Operation Aboard
by gibbsxzivaxtony9761
Summary: Ziva and Gibbs are on an undercover op in Europe tailing the marine ship Abraham while being tailed by terroists. Hotel rooms, late night stake outs, and terroists trying to kill them. Will they finally admit their love and make it out alive?
1. Chapter 1

Gibbs POV

I leaned back against the seat, my arm resting against the small window. The aircraft wasn't that bad, but I would've liked to avoid going through an actual airport on our way to the marine ship.

I opened the file again and re-read it.

File Name: Abroad

Description: Special Agent Gibbs and Agent David will be watching the Abraham and going undercover as a couple to investigate suspicious terrorist activity in Europe. The mission can take between three to seven months and is classified. Only the captain knows about this op and it must be kept confidential. If your cover is blown, call SECNAV and tell them "red, white, blue." The hotels you will be staying are as follows: Hotel De Bordeaux in Paris, Hotel Inner in Amsterdam, Hotel Coronado in Barcelona, and Austria Trend Apartment Hotel in Vienna. Your equipment is waiting for you in Paris, your first stop and the Abraham's first docking point. Last but not least, keep the silver case we gave you at all times, it will be your life saver if you are in any danger.

Contact: You will meet your contact, a medium height woman about 5 feet 2 inches outside the airport. You will address her as "Melinda" and she will give you specific details on the terrorists.

Dangers: This op can cause immediate death of anyone you come into contact with. We know that there are some terrorist groups that are scattered around or within a ten mile radius of your hotel and the ship. Be on your guard at all times, if you let your guard down once or let Intel slip that you are a federal agent you will be killed.

I sighed, running a hand over my mouth and glared out the window. Vance had only told us a few hours ago and sent us home packing. My jaw muscle twitched as I thought of the danger he was putting us through. I knew that no matter what our jobs held some sort of danger, but I had been so determined to not put Ziva through any of it.

I had only found out recently that I was in love with her. Her beautiful brown eyes, luscious brown hair curled into ringlets and soft tan complexion. She was perfect in all sense of the word; her personality caring and funny, her eyes always seemed to twinkle when she laughed.

I sighed again, I was in love with my partner for this op, and that could potentially kill us.

Ziva POV

I was hunched over the small bathroom, throwing up everything that I had eaten that day. I felt my throat gag and clench in agony as I choked. I felt tears burning in my eyes and wiped them hastily away. It was taking all I had not to just pass out on the floor right then and there. My arms felt like noodles, trying to grip onto the seat and keep myself upright.

"Ziva?"

I froze; I knew that voice. It was the voice that I had been dreaming of for the past month. I could see his blue eyes, boring into mine each time our hands brushed each other accidently. I could still smell the sweet scent of the barely there cologne that he wore.

"Y-yes," I breathed, my voice sounded foreign, even to me. It was scratchy and worn as if I had been shouting the whole day.

"Ziver, are you OK, can you open the door?" His voice was hushed and his hand hadn't stopped pounding on the flimsy door.

I sighed, and slowly crawled towards the lock and unbolted it. In a flash, he was inside, closing the door behind him. I felt the last bit of my strength go away and collapsed onto the cold hard floor.

Then, I felt his arms slide around my body and didn't bother pulling away this time.

"Ziva, what happened?" He asked, pulling me onto his lap, brushing away my hair from my sweat coated face.

"I do not like planes," I gasped out and struggled against his hold and went for the toilet again, emptying my stomach.

He pulled my hair out of the way for me and when I was finished, he handed me a glass of water and I obediently rinsed my mouth out.

Then, to my annoyance, he laughed.

"Never thought you would get motion sickness, Ziver, DiNozzo, maybe, defiantly McGee, but never you," he chuckled under his breath.

I struggled to my feet, leaning against the door, "Well I have just never liked planes, is all."

He opened the door for me and snaked an arm around my waist, helping me into my seat next to his. I couldn't help but feel the heat and to closeness between us and blushed a faint pink. There was barely any space between us and it was driving me crazy.

I turned and felt his eyes boring into the side of my face and turned to looked at him.

"What is it, Gibbs?" I asked, my tone apprehensive.

"You sure you're OK? You look pretty pale," he observed, his hand on my forehead.

I shook my head, "I am fine, just do not like planes."

He nodded, not believing it but gave up on the topic. I heard a crackle and then a voice.

"Please fasten your seatbelts, we will be arriving in Paris, France in a few minutes. We hope you had a good flight with us!"

I fiddled with the seat belt and saw him reach over and buckle it for me, his hands lingering on my waist for a second and then turning away.

"You imagined it, stop being so stupid," I chastised myself.

I felt the plane gradually lose altitude and braced myself for the impact that was about to come. The plane thudded onto the run way, shooting forward.

He looked at me, "Do you have the case?"

I nodded, holding up my right hand. The cool medal felt heavy on my already bruised wrist and the fact that the case probably weighed about twenty pounds didn't help either.

"Any idea what's in it?" He asked, eyeing the case doubtfully.

I shrugged, "Guess we will find out soon."

The seatbelt sign flashed off and I jumped out of my seat, grabbing our suitcases from the overhead bin and began to fix my hair.

"Ziva, what if something happens to us on this case," he began, his tone serious.

I shook my head, "Nothing will happen to us, Gibbs, because we are both very good agents."

I could see the doubt in his eyes but he didn't bother arguing with me. I looked forward again, and began to move out of the plane, stepping through security checkpoints and finally out into the lobby. That's when it happened.

I looked around the airport, looking for this Melinda when I saw what looked like an Arabian man with a black leather duster stalking towards us. He made a signal at a man behind us and then there was an explosion.

"Gibbs look out!" I yelled, pushing him forward just as a wave of gas and smoke flew around the airport. I covered my mouth and nose with my hand, struggling to breathe. I couldn't seem to focus on the people around me and felt my nose sting from lack of oxygen. My head began pounding and I just barely dodged out of the man's reach.

"Get her! She is the one he wants!" I heard him yell in Arabic. I stumbled blindly towards what I thought was the door and was stopped by floods of people.

The airport was chaos with people yelling and screaming left and right. Suddenly, I felt a strong arm grab my hand and looked up, trying to focus my eyes and was suddenly drowning in pools of blue.

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" He yelled above the noise, pulling me to his side, he bolted for the fire escape door and burst through it, practically dragging me down the stairs until we reached the airport parking lot.

I pumped my legs, we were running side by side and hand by hand. His touch by itself sent goose bumps up my arms and made my brain blur with images of him.

We slowed to a stop when we neared a woman with light brown hair and matching eyes. She looked about 5"2' and when she flashed her badge, I felt myself let my guard down just a little.

"NCIS, I was told to meet a Gibbs and David here," she whispered, looking at the two of us.

I nodded, not bothering to try and pull out any identification when I could barely stand on my two feet. My head was pounding and I saw spots everywhere.

"We need a car, something fast that will get us to the listed hotels," Gibbs whispered, his arm still wrapped tightly around me, supporting almost all of my weight.

She looked at me for a second, "She was hit, wasn't she?"

He nodded and we were ushered into a black Honda parked nearby. I opened the door and collapsed on the back seat, my breathing heavy. My headache was slowly dimming but I could barely focus.

"Does she still have the case?" Melinda asked, getting behind the wheel and gunning the engine to life.

I nodded, holding up my right arm for her to see. The case danged from the handcuffs and shimmered in the light.

"Damned thing almost got her killed," Gibbs muttered beside me.

I laughed, "I am not dead yet, Gibbs, it was simply too close for comfort."

He nodded, his posture stock and unyielding. His eyes were focused on the road ahead of us and I saw his muscles tense.

"What is wrong, Gibbs?" I asked, my voice groggy. I was slowly gaining my strength back and could focus on his face now.

"We're being tailed," He hissed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Feel free to keep reviewing, keeps me going haha wow the snow here in New Jersey is CRAZY! God, like two feet of snow! It goes up to my knees haha. Ok, so on with the story! I might just make them stuck in a blizzard… Hm that would be fun wouldn't it? OK so insight is that Gibbs developed a little something for Melinda, and leaves Ziva behind unintentionally. Ziva gets involved with a very cute French man. I take French so thought I would throw it in! Enjoy and REVIEW! **

Ziva POV

I tensed and sat up in my seat, turning my head to look behind us and surely, there was a black Porsche mirroring our every move. I pulled the safety off the gun at my waist and my grip on it tightened.

"Melinda, we can't go to the hotel, we have to lose 'em before we do anything else," Gibbs turned to lean against the front seat. He looked so much older now, his brows knit together and his eyes fixated on the windshield. I could see the wheels turning in his head and looked back just in time to see the man riding shot gun cock his pistol.

"Gibbs, he is about to shoot, we need to get down!" I hissed, pulling him onto the floor beside me. His face flushed a light pink and he looked pretty pissed; I would've hated to be them at this moment.

I looked back again just in time to see the gun go off and instinctively ducked again. The bullet went through the glass, showering us with little fragments. I felt them dig into the back of my neck and the back of my head and winced.

"Melinda, you alright," Gibbs whispered just as the car swerved.

"Yes, minor cuts from the glass other than that I am fine," her voice was laden with a heavy French accent.

I got up onto the back seat on my knee and took aim with my gun.

"Ziva! What the hell do you think you're doing? Get down!" Gibbs yelled, his hand on the back of my shirt.

I shook my head and aimed for the driver and fired three rounds into the glass. I watched the bullet sink into his chest and sighed in relief. The man beside him instinctively fired at my head and I ducked, covering my head with my hands.

"I got the driver, but his friend does not seem to want to go down with out a fight," I whispered into his ear.

He nodded, "Good work, David, now let me show you how a marine does it."

I could hear the smile in his voice and questioned how he could be so relaxed while we were being shot at.

He got up onto his knee and fired once, then he had a smirk on his face. I looked up into his face, my brows knit together.

"How do you have such good aim, Gibbs?" I asked, looking back at the car that was now swerving off the road and plowing a sedan down.

"I used to do this for a living, Ziver, don't you remember?" He asked, laughing and then he stopped. His eyes narrowed.

"Ziver, you're bleeding, come here!" He demanded, gently pulling me closer to him.

I looked at him questionably, my hand running through my hair. I felt something sticky in the palm of my hand and pulled it away to see that my hand was coated in blood.

"It is nothing, Gibbs, we can take care of it later," I shrugged, pulling out my tough act. I didn't feel the glass imbed itself into my head or neck until now.

"No, Ziva, it's not, and I will take care of this later when we're at the hotel, OK," his voice was stern.

I nodded, "Yes, alright."

I looked at Melinda, who was wincing slightly, "Melinda, are you alright?"

She shook her head, "Bullet wound in my shoulder, the only good thing about this is that we are almost at the Hotel de Bordeaux."

She turned into the parking lot and stumbled out of the car, pulling her jacket tighter around her to cover the bullet wound. I instinctively pulled mine tighter as well, pulling my hood up to hide the blood that was now seeping down my back.

I got out of the car as well as Gibbs. He helped Melinda into the hotel room and left me standing there with the suitcases. I sighed, this was just perfect; while Gibbs flirted with a French woman I will be carrying bags, terrific.

"Madame, do you need any help?"

I turned and saw a man with olive complexion and olive green eyes holding his hand out. I shook my head, pulling the handle of the suitcase up and tugging it up the steps and pushed through the door just in time to see Gibbs usher her into the elevator.

"Gibbs! Room number," I breathed out, feeling light headed.

"507, floor 5, hurry up and get up here," he called just as the door closed.

The bellhop had followed me to the elevator and turned me around, looking at me questionally.

"Common t'appelle tu?" (what is your name?) He asked, making me blush a deep pink. His accent complemented with his complexion greatly.

"Je m'appelle Hélène," (My name is Ellen) I whispered, smiling back at him.

"Tu est très jolie," (You are very beautiful) he whispered, his eyes twinkling.

"Merci beaucoup, au' voir," (Thank you very much, good bye) I whispered and pulled away, walking into the elevator with three suitcases and my duffel bag slung over my shoulder.

I punched in the fifth floor with a smirk on my face and thanked God that I still remembered my French and thought up a name fast enough.

I walked up to room 507 and knocked twice, "Gibbs, it's me let me in."

I jiggled the handle and found that it was unlocked and my senses suddenly overwhelmed me. I tensed, my gun in hand and walked in cautiously. I checked the bathroom to see no one there and then went into the bedroom. I stood frozen to the floor; there he was, Melinda in his arms, their faces pressed together.

I sighed, "Could not keep your hands off each other long enough to let me in?"

I leaned against the wall, pretending to clean my gun while fighting the tears that threatened to escape. My heart cracked in my chest and broke into a million pieces.

I looked up to see the alarm flash over his face, "Ziver, it's not what you think, we just um got too close."

I laughed, "Right Gibbs, I am sure it is nothing. I am going to take a shower now."

I turned away from them when he grabbed my arm, "No, Ziva, I need to get the glass out of your head and neck before it gets wet."

I roughly pulled away, my face a cold mask, "No, I am alright, go and take care of her bullet wound first."

I went to the suitcases I had dropped earlier and opened it to pull out a red tank top and sweat pants. I walked into the bathroom, closing the door with a bang behind me and began to undress. I stepped out of the blood soaked sweatshirt and examined my wounds.

I gasped at the amount of blood that was still pooling down my neck and dabbed at it with a wet towel, biting off the small cries of pain that threatened to erupt. To my horror, the bleeding didn't stop and I decided to ignore it.

I got into the shower and turned on the water so that it was scalding hot and let it run down my back. I felt the tears pour out of my eyes in rivers and my lip trembled. He betrayed me, kissing another woman. I was supposed to be his partner, he was suppose to watch my back; so why did he just leave me?

I stayed in the shower, letting the water burn my body for a few minutes while my mind began to spin in anger.

I couldn't take it anymore, and before I realized what I was doing, I had already punched a clear whole throw the shower wall, causing the porcelain to cut into my knuckles. I rinsed the blood off and turned off the now freezing water and got out. I dried myself and slipped on the tank and pulled on the sweat pants. I looked around the bathroom but couldn't find any bandages and sighed.

I got out of the bathroom and bent down at my suitcase, pulling out gauze and disinfectant. I felt someone behind me and instinctively reached for my gun, throwing the safety off.

"Just me," he whispered, his breath hot on my neck.

I got up, thankful that my hair covered the blood I could feel running down my neck. I nodded once, before the room began to spin and the pain began to cut into my focus.

"Ziva, Ziva, you OK? Look at me," he called out, but I couldn't hear him.

I stumbled blindly away from him, going into an empty bedroom and collapsing on the white bed, slamming the door behind me. I felt my blood staining the sheets crimson and I felt my eyes close shut, too tired to open them again, I just lay there.

The last thing I heard was his voice, calling my name, telling me to open the door.

"If only I could Gibbs, if only I could," I whispered before I was pulled under.

Gibbs POV

"Melinda, you need to get that wound checked," I whispered in her ear when we arrived in the room. I felt horrible for leaving Ziva down there with the bags, but Melinda didn't look like she couldn't stand anymore.

She nodded, "Why don't you look at it for me."

I looked into her eyes and realized with a shock that she looked a lot like Jenny, enough to be her sister, actually. I pulled her into a bedroom and sat her down on the bed, pulling out the first aid kit I had brought along and began to try and take out the bullet. I was no surgeon, and we couldn't afford to let anyone know that we were here.

She winced in pain, but after a few agonizing minutes, I finally managed to extract the bullet. She turned to face me, her soft green eyes boring into mine and she leaned in to kiss me. I was shocked at first, but my tired mind registered it as Jenny kissing me back in Paris, all those years ago, in this same hotel. I pulled her close to me and kissed her back with a passion that I had kept hidden for so long.

"Jen," I thought, "You're finally back."

That's when I heard her voice, calm but controlled saying, "Could not keep your hands off each other long enough to let me in?"

I winced, and pulled away, bringing myself back to reality. I was on an undercover op with the most amazing woman there ever was and here I was, kissing this Jenny look-alike.

"Ziver, it's not what you think, we just um got too close," I mumbled, mentally kicking myself. Great excuse, Gibbs, I thoughts, a three year old could've done better.

She barked out a laugh that held nothing but anger and continued to clean her gun.

"Right Gibbs, I am sure it is nothing. I am going to take a shower now," she began to walk away from me when I saw the blood through her sweatshirt. I grabbed her arm, twirling her closer to me.

"No, Ziva, I need to get the glass out of your head and neck before it gets wet," my hand began to twitch up to cup her neck, but I thought better of it and steadied it.

"No, I am alright, go and take care of her bullet wound first," she basically hissed out and went to her suitcase to grab her things. My eyes bore into her back, trying to make her understand what had just happened when she went through the door.

I walked back to a startled Melinda and got behind her, trying to sew up the wound as gently as possible.

"Your partner, she likes you, no?" She asked, turning a little bit as the needle bit into her raw flesh.

I laughed, "No, she hates me pretty much right now. We were picked for this op because the Director back in DC thought we were the most capable."

She nodded, her red hair bouncing up and down, "OK, well then I am sure that you are free tonight, am I right?"

I could hear the flirtatious note in her voice and glared at her, did she not get it? We were on an op to stop a terrorist attack on the Abraham and she wanted me to go _out _with her?

"I have to watch out for the Abraham. Where is it docked by the way? Do we have a good view from the hotel?"

She nodded, "Yes, right outside your window. Get a telescope and you will be fine, my petit pois."

I heard a crash and my head jerked up in the direction of the bathroom, followed by a hiss of cursing in Hebrew and sighed.

"No, she is alright, she just probably dropped something," Melinda breathed.

I couldn't help but notice that she even had the same perfume as Jenny had. I winced and pulled myself away from her to stand outside the door just as she stumbled out, her hair wet. She walked towards her suitcase to grab the gauze and disinfectant. I felt her tense up when she realized I was behind her and she automatically reached for her gun, jerking the safety off.

"Just me," I whispered quietly, trying to calm her down.

She turned around and I suddenly saw the slick blood on the back of her head and neck and cursed myself a hundred times over for not looking at if more closely. Her face was pale and her eyes were unfocused. She looked like she was about to pass out right on the floor; unfortunately, I couldn't let her do that.

"Ziva, Ziva, you OK? Look at me," I told her, trying to get a hold on her but she promptly pushed me away and stumbled into the other room, slamming the door behind her.

I ran over to the door, trying to jerk it open but it wouldn't move.

"Ziva! Open the damn door right now!" I yelled. No response.

I saw Melinda get up from where she was and motioned me away. She kicked the door open in one easy movement and I jumped through it to find Ziva lying on her stomach, her eyes closed and blood pooling around her.

**IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE IT REVIEW (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! I hated ending it there yesterday; my mind was like spinning pulling me to my laptop haha so here it is! I'm making it extra long for all of you, so give me a few more reviews! **

**Additional thanks to: Faith thanks for reading everyone! Oh, and ItalianRiot, I'm very happy that I was able to change your mind (: anyways, enough stalling, on with the story!**

Gibbs POV

"Melinda, get me the first-aid kit, a towel and something to get the glass out," I turned my head and told her.

She nodded and left the room only to return seconds later laden with gauze and supplies. My heart was threatening to break; seeing her lying there, her life draining out of her just about broke my heart into a million pieces.

"Come on Ziver, wake up," I whispered, shaking her slightly, my hands on her back, pulling away her soaked tank. My breath caught in my throat; she was so damn beautiful, her lacy black bra contrasting brilliantly against her tanned complexion. I couldn't help myself and ran a hang over her smooth skin and pulled away abruptly.

I couldn't do this, I had to fix her up first. I pulled out the encrypted phone Vance had given me and dialed Ducky's number, waiting for him to pick up.

"Ah, Jethro, what can I do for you?" He asked, his voice calm.

I looked at Melinda, signaling for her to turn on the laptop video chat. She nodded and pressed the green button.

"Get on, Duck, this is an emergency."

With that being said, I hung up, grabbing the lap top and throwing it on the bed and jumped on next to it. Within seconds, I could see the Scottish man's face pop up.

His eyes widened when he saw the blood, and to my horror, Abby, Tony, and McGee were all there. Their expressions ranged from horror to just plane shock.

"Jethro, what happened to the poor girl? Is she breathing?" Ducky asked, his face full of concern.

I checked for a pulse and found a weak one, to my relief, "Yeah, Duck, she's breathing. We were in a shootout a few hours ago, the bullet went through the glass and the glass embedded itself into her skin. How do I get it out?"

"What a second, boss, you sure she's OK? That's a hell of a lot of blood," Tony began, pushing through the crowd.

I looked at my senior field agents face and saw the worry written clearly in his features, "Yeah, DiNozzo, she should be fine."

He nodded once, clearly not believing a word I had just said. I turned to Ducky, waiting for the instructions.

"Take a pair of pincers and carefully, I mean really _carefully, _remove each piece of glass and put it into a bowl. Then, disinfect the wound and bandage her up. I really must go, Jethro. The Director said we should limit contact."

I nodded, "Thanks Duck, bye."

The screen went black and I pushed the laptop away. I looked around the first-aid kit and got out a pair of small, silver pincers and brushed her hair away from her back. I felt my heart stop when I saw the bloodied glass in her neck and the back of her head. There were thousands of them; each one of them embedded so deep that it would undoubtedly cause her excruciating pain when she woke up.

God dammit, I thought, why didn't I just bring her up with me and fix her up before this happened? God, it's a miracle she even made it all the way up here without showing how much pain she really was in.

I clicked the pincers and grasped onto the first piece embedded in the raw flesh and gently pulled it out. It didn't look as small as I had thought; as a matter of fact, it looked about two inches long. I winced as her body jerked on the bed, and then went still. I dropped it into the bowl, and looked at her, never feeling so helpless in my life.

"I'm so sorry, Ziver," I whispered.

"You told me that you never apologize, sign of weakness," Ziva mumbled, and turned to look at me, her brown eyes filled with pain that she just barely managed to keep out of her face.

I felt relief flood over me and whispered, "God Ziva, I thought you were almost dead!"

She laughed softly, "No, I am not dead, Gibbs, it is just glass."

I could see that she was playing it down and shook my head, this girl just wouldn't let down any of her walls, even now, when she was bleeding out.

Ziva POV

I felt strong calloused hands on my back, gently massaging it and rubbing it. Then, the pressure changed and his hand was just below the base of my neck, applying light pressure. I struggled to open my eyes when I felt a sharp pain hit me like a tidal wave. My body jerked on the bed violently and I buried my face in the bed sheets, trying not to cry out.

"I'm so sorry, Ziver," he whispered. I could hear the pain in his voice and it made my head hurt even more. This man did not apologize, he had taught us that it was a sign of weakness and for him to show weakness now, was unthinkable.

"You told me that you never apologize, sign of weakness," I managed to choke out, turning my head ever so slightly to fix him with my steady gaze. His blue eyes stared right back at me, a silent conversation passed through us, filled with "I'm sorry" and "I accept" s.

"God Ziva, I thought you were almost dead!" He exclaimed, not able to hold it back anymore.

I laughed softly, my throat dry, "No, I am not dead, Gibbs, it is just glass."

I decided to play it down for him. I couldn't stand to cause him anymore pain that I had already caused. He was tearing himself up for it already, I could see the war raging in his head, telling him that this was all his fault.

I wanted nothing more to kiss him then, to reassure him that everything would be fine and that I was fine.

There was a silence, and then I felt his hand began to gently massage my neck, his hand warm against my chilled skin.

"I'm going to fix this, OK Ziver? It'll hurt like a bitch, sure, but you gotta pull through this will me ok?"

I nodded, I was no stranger to pain. We were like old friends, almost.

"Just do it, Gibbs, I can take it," I steeled myself for the pain and almost immediately, it came.

I felt the pincers grab at the glass and pull it out quickly, I felt something wet and sticky run down my neck and winced slightly.

The process was agonizing and yet necessary. My mind drifted to my favorite subject: Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I thought of his strong hands on my bare skin, being as gentle as possible, and his soft blue eyes, filled with the pain that would always haunt him after his wife and daughter's deaths. We shared the same pain in a way. We had both lost family to people that we were forced to kill to avenge their deaths.

I remember Tali's death as if it were yesterday, and the pain was just as fresh. The bombs raged around us, blowing up sand into our faces. I could see her body fall and lay still beside me. I tried to run back for her, but my father grabbed at my jacket, pulling me forward, his dark eyes commanding.

"Officer David, you must keep going, she is dead, therefore we forget about her," he had hissed in my ear.

I struggled to control the tears in my eyes and couldn't, letting one fall. He slapped me across the face and that was when I finally realized that he was never my father. Fathers loved their daughters; he had no love for me or Tali. I grew up that day, building up my walls, brick by brick. The next few days, I plotted in my bunk, and went out looking for the terrorist bombers in charge. I brought along with me four pistols.

I burst into their camp, only about 16, and shot down everyone in that building. My heart was cold, frozen, it would never beat again. When I saw Tali fall, my heart died with her. It was lost, just like her body, lying in the Sahara. I thought that I would never be able to love again, never laugh again, never feel _anything _ever again.

But miraculously, when I was transferred to NCIS after a failed mission, I was able to let a certain blue eyed, former marine into my heart. Whenever I saw him, he seemed to warm my heart more and more with each passing day. He was tearing down my walls, which was dangerous, but he made it work. He could control me, he understood me.

It was only a few months ago that I realized that I had been smiling, and my heart didn't hurt as much as before. He was my rock, he was my life; he could pick me up and dust me off every time I fell.

I felt tears prick my eyes and began crying softly. The pain was numb now, I barely felt it. I was so enveloped in my thoughts that I didn't realize that the pain had stopped all together.

I felt cool water press into my neck and the back of my head and sighed in relief. He could still take care of me, he was always there for me, I thought. But he is not yours, I told myself sternly, he just kissed another woman, Ziva, he is not yours, he never _was _yours to begin with.

"Ziva, why are you crying?" He asked, sliding bandages on my neck.

I shook my head, I didn't even realize that he had turned me around until I was looking into his clear blue eyes.

"I am fine, it just hurt, that is all," I told him, not daring to tell him what I had just thought about.

His eyes kept searching mine and I had a strange sensation that he was reading my mind, flipping through my thoughts like an open book.

"You're hurting," it wasn't a question, it was a blunt statement.

I shook my head, "I am fine, Gibbs, thank you."

I slowly sat up and he took hold of my arm, his touch burning my skin, sending sparks up my arm to my shoulder.

"Ziva, are you sure? You look pretty pale," he began, but I cut him off.

"Yes, Gibbs, I just need rest, is all."

I turned away from him and felt the weight on my right arm being lifted and looked around the room frantically.

"Where is the case?" I asked, my eyes scanning every corner of the room for the case that we were suppose to have with us at all times.

He held up his right arm and I saw it dangling from a pair of shinning silver cuffs. I sighed in relief, collapsing on the bed again.

"Don't worry about it, I'll keep it safe," he told me, laying next to me.

I couldn't help but realize how close our bodies were. Our arms touched and our legs were only a few short centimeters away. I looked around the room and saw Melinda standing there, a phone pressed to her ear, speaking in abrupt French.

I caught a few snippets of her conversation and strained my ears to hear more, but couldn't. She came up to us, and sat at the edge of the bed, pulling out a few pictures from her purse.

"This is how this will work, there are several terrorist camps stationed around the ship. They are small, usually not a threat, but they are banning together to take the ship down. These are the leaders; you must keep an eye out for them. In a few days time, there will be a ball that you two must attend as Monsieur et Madame Deveraux."

She showed us the pictures of a man with startling black eyes and a tanned complexion. He had a beard around his features and dark curly hair. The other one had an olive complexion, almost pasty white with black hair and matching eyes. The last one had the same olive complexion but he had blonde hair and green eyes.

"What are our first names?" Gibbs asked, looking at the pictures.

She turned to Gibbs, "You will be André Deveraux, and Ms. David will be Hélène Deveraux. We have reason to believe that an attack could happen there because the terrorist group is closest to that hotel."

"And which hotel is that?" I asked, looking up from the pictures.

She hesitated, "Hotel de Bordeaux, the one we are staying at."

I looked at her, incredulous, "You booked this hotel knowing that we could be caught in the middle of this and potentially killed?"

My anger spiked up and I felt like throwing the woman across the room! How dare she jeopardize our lives even further? The terrorists could find our room and get information from us as well as kill us in our sleep.

"This way, it is easier to see what happens because, as you Americans say it, it is right under our noses."

Gibbs gave a low chuckle and looked at the pictures again, his brow furrowed.

"This one looks like the one from the airport, but the rest of them, I'm not so sure. How many men are we looking at?" He asked, looking directly at Melinda.

"Just over one hundred, not very well trained, but I am almost positive that at least one of them maybe Mossad," she directed the last word towards me.

"Which one, do you have any pictures?" I asked, looking slightly alarmed. She shook her head at me sadly.

"I wish I knew. All I know is that she has a shocking resemblance towards you."

Ziva POV

That night I barely slept at all, our equipment was set at the window, and we were switching shifts, each shift lasting about three hours. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Paris truly was this time of year, especially with the snow falling down in gentle puffs towards the sleeping city. I refocused the telescope on the ship and saw each member of the crew go in and out, some looking slightly drunk, others with solemn expressions on their faces.

That's when I saw a small speedboat a few miles away from them. I turned the telescope towards the boat, zooming in on the faces and to my disdain, they were covered with masks. I looked at their boat, it meant "Death" in Arabic and I felt my heart lurch. That was them.

I pulled on my leather jacket and got out of my sweat pants into jeans, clipping on my gun at my waist and pulled my hair up. I slipped a knife in my boot and hid a pistol in my inside jacket pocket.

I walked over to Gibbs and Melinda's bed, and shook him gently. I looked at him, willing him to wake up. I saw his arms wrapped securely around her waist and sighed.

As soon as my hand made contact with his wrist, he bolted out of bed, gun in hand.

"They're going towards the ship, Gibbs. Roughly three men, all have snipers in their hands. The ship is having some sort of party, the crew won't suspect things until it is too late. We must go."

He nodded, pulling on a shirt and jeans. He grabbed his gun and we were out the door, not bothering to use the elevator, we climbed down the stairs, tensions running high.

My boots seemed unexpectedly loud against the tiles. I burst through the door and calculated how much time we had. It was only a few miles away from here, I could probably run there in five minutes.

"They're north of here, roughly two miles," I told the man behind me. He nodded, gun in hand.

We stuck to the darkest corners of the streets, watching each other's backs. That was when I realized that I was putting my life in his hands, and his in mine.

I caught a slight movement to my left and motioned for him to stop, nodding my head towards the movement.

He turned almost immediately, and fixed me with a cold gaze, telling me to go no further. His famous gut was probably telling him something.

My eyes stayed glued to that spot, so when the first shot was fired behind me, I didn't realize it until it was too late.

I pulled Gibbs down, the bullet rushed right past us, and I sprang into action, ducking for cover behind the trash cans. Gibbs was right behind me, his gun pointed and he began firing. I watched his back, the dark alley acting as cover for us.

I saw a man jump out from behind us and quickly drew my knife, cutting his stomach open. I could hear guns being fired behind me and felt my adrenaline shoot up. I grabbed him, throwing him away and stood up in a fighting stance. The men seemed to pop out of nowhere, leaving us hopelessly out numbered.

"Keep firing up front, Gibbs, I got them," I whispered in his ear as they closed in. I counted about fifteen. They all had guns and knives in hand.

"Gibbs, no matter what you hear, you must not look back, not even for a second, do you understand me? Keep firing," I whispered, my voice choked with fear for the first time in my life.

"Ziva," he whispered back, our eyes locked and a jolt of electricity was sent through us.

"Promise me, Gibbs, please," I begged him.

After what felt like an eternity he nodded. "I promise, Ziver, as long as you promise you'll keep yourself alive.

I nodded, "I promise, Gibbs."

He turned away, directly in front of me and began firing again. They began closing in on us again, this was an impossible fight, against all odds, we just had to win. Good thing I was good at doing the impossible.

"I love you, Gibbs," I thought in my head, before the descended upon us.


	4. Chapter 4

**God, winter break is boring me. I couldn't help myself haha I just had to write this chapter before I went to sleep! So, thanks again Faith for reading and thank you everyone that has given this story a try! Keep on reviewing! It really does make my day!**

Ziva POV

My muscles tensed and I had both gun and pistol in my hands in a flash. I fired around us, my eyes seeking their bodies for their hearts and fired with precision. I didn't waist more than two bullets on one man, and when I was out of bullets, I decided to go hand to hand.

I looked back behind me briefly to see that Gibbs was focused on his targets and not turning my way. In that one moment that I had chosen to let down my guard in the slightest, I felt the knife pressing into me.

I turned abruptly, and grabbed the man, flipping him over and quickly snapping his neck in one fluid movement. I checked the wound; it was light; nothing to be worried about, yet.

They came at me faster, then. The five remaining were quick and ruthless, I could see that in their eyes, they were out to kill. I grabbed the garbage can's top off and blocked the bullets they fired at me, and pushed onto them. I landed a swift roundhouse kick into one of their stomachs, drawing out my knife again and plunged it into his stomach, turning clockwise, and pulling it out.

I turned and looked around the dark alley, the light was horrible and the moon did nothing to help my eyesight. I stayed perfectly still for a moment, sweat running down my face. I looked back to see that I was several feet apart from Gibbs now, not realizing that I had pushed on and left him behind, I cautiously went back to him.

I caught movement to his left and saw the man aim the gun. My breath caught in my throat as I began to sprint towards them, and pounced on top of the man before he could even pull the trigger.

"You will not touch him," I hissed into his face, and swiftly punched him in the nose.

He replied with a kick to my stomach that made me flinch and he rolled me off of him, his attention diverted to me. I felt his hand reach behind him for the gun and pulled myself into a tight ball, my feet shooting out in front of me and kicking him in the face. He staggered back and I grabbed the gun, shooting him twice before he went down.

I looked back to see that Gibbs had put down his gun and was eyeing the scene around us with distaste. For the first time this night, I began to look at the dead bodies around us and the environment.

The alley was small, cramped, with garbage cans lining both sides and the faint smell of vomit hung in the air. My eyes fell onto the bodies that were scattered around us, their blank expressions of horror, some of shock. My heart did not go out to them as I had expected, but instead, I felt a strange sense of accomplishment, being able to go against all odds.

I looked at Gibbs, "We must keep moving, see if anything has happened to the ship yet."

He nodded, his blue eyes turning towards me, searching my body for any obvious injuries.

"Ziva, you alright?" He asked for about the thousandth time this day.

I nodded my head, "Yes, Gibbs, I am fine."

That was the same answer I had for that infuriating question every time someone asked it.

I tore out of the alley way, Gibbs behind me, towards the boat that lay in the harbor, untouched, a strange stillness in the air.

I looked at Gibbs for his signal to move in, and he nodded twice. My feet padded quietly as we entered the surprisingly unguarded entrance and climbed up the ladder that led to the main deck. I surveyed the scene, and to my surprise, no one was on it.

I looked at Gibbs again, "There is no one here," I whispered.

His eyes narrowed and he cautiously went bellow deck. I followed him and couldn't help but notice how small the corridors were and how close we could come to losing our lives today.

"Ziva split up, you take the left side, and I'll take the right. If you find anything, here," he tossed me a radio he had been carrying, "give me a call. And that's an order, David, you find anything, you let me know."

I nodded, "Same to you, Gibbs," I began when he turned. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, "Gibbs!"

He turned around, "Yeah?"

His blue eyes held surprise in them and a small smirk. I smiled at him, couldn't help but notice the way his eyes seemed to light up when he was joking around with me.

I tossed him two clips for the gun and he looked at me, shocked, "You should keep one too; in case we run into something."

I shook my head, "I am a weapon in the making, Gibbs, and you need them more than I."

With that, I turned and headed down the corridor, my senses once again put on high alert. I scanned every door, opening each one cautiously. Suddenly, I heard footsteps approach on the next turn and froze, pressing myself against the wall, listening to their voices.

"We have them under lock down already, we should be able to kill them with only one grenade, Hassan, we do not need more," his voice was familiar, somehow.

The man from the airport, I thought, and my blood ran cold. How did he end up here so fast? How did he even know which boat to go for? There were several vessels docked and it was too dark for him to read the code letters etched in the side.

"Yes, but we must retrieve the grenades first, so do not get too cocky, Lachlan."

I turned the cool medal of the knife in my hand around and around, waiting for them to get closer. My body tensed up and adrenaline was flowing through my veins. Every sound, every detail was brighter and more distinct. I heard their footsteps coming towards me and before they could even reach for their guns, I plunged the knife into one the man's chest and he went down.

I turned to the other, pressing him against the wall, restraining his arms.

"Tell me who your leader is, or you die, just like your friend," I hissed in his face.

He laughed, "So, you are the famous Mossad assassin we have heard so much about. It is a shame Director David sent such a fine and beautiful woman here to kill us."

"But I will not be the one dying, you will," he hissed.

He cocked his gun and pressed it against my temple. I looked around me, trying to find some sort of weapon when a shot rang out. I prepared myself for the pain, but it never came. I looked up to see Gibbs standing in front of me, his gun raised and a bullet in my captors head.

"I told you to radio me," he said calmly.

I sighed, "I could not risk it, and they were too close. They could have heard me."

He sighed, "Yeah, OK, come on; let's go find where they're held up."

I nodded, and looked around, straining my ears to hear some sort of voice, anything. I heard muffled voices further away and looked at Gibbs; he nodded and headed in that direction, me following behind him.

We arrived at the gates of the cafeteria, and to my surprise, there were no guards outside. I could only hope that it was the same thing inside.

He motioned me back and I obeyed. I looked around for any other weapons that I had in my jacket and only found a single knife, to my disdain. He kicked open the door, and almost immediately, we were greeted with shots.

He ducked down, from military training, and I followed his lead. I knew that I was dead weight unless we could get close enough to them. I pushed forward steadily, dodging left and right. The men were pretty bad shots, most of them missing me and hitting the steel doors behind me.

"Two shooters, Ziver, I got them, you get the crew out," he whispered in my ear, his body pressed against mine.

I swallowed and nodded, looking at the tied up men, I ran to each of them, cutting through the ropes and earning grateful smiles.

"Who do you work for, you don't look like you're from here," one said, handing me his pistol.

I laughed, "I am with NCIS, now, can you untie the rest of your ship mates? I cannot blow cover."

He smiled at me, flashing a set of perfectly white teeth, "Yeah, sure, anything for a pretty girl like you. Will I see you at the ball?" He asked hopefully.

I nodded, smiling back, "Yes, you will."

I looked at his name tag, Bradley Smith, I would remember that name for sure.

"What's your name?" He asked, catching my eye again.

I smiled, "Hélène Deveraux."

He nodded, and pulled away from me, and began working on the rest of his ship mates as I had instructed. I looked around, and found Gibbs talking to a group of boys who looked about 18, his eyes shooting daggers at them.

"André, what is going on?" I asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

He looked startled for a moment, then turned his gaze to rest on my face, "These guys were suppose to be guarding the ship, making sure nothing happened. But instead, they ended up drunk!"

His face was burning up with fury, "Please excuse my husband, he gets upset easily," I said smoothly, leading him out of the now crowded cafeteria.

"Gibbs, pull yourself together, we must get back to the hotel before Melinda notices," I hissed in his ear, my own anger mingling with his.

He glared at me, "They are the reason this happened, because they were too careless! They're a bad excuse for a marine!"

I sighed, pushing my hair away from my face. I was tired, and in pain; I didn't have the time or the energy to argue with him, so I just lead him up onto the deck, my hand on his arm. I walked up onto the deck, letting the gentle night breeze wipe away some of the sweat. I looked up to see that it was still snowing and sighed, shivering.

"Gibbs, you cannot get mad at them for something they were hardly responsible for. If they had been sober, they would've been shot by the men."

I could feel his eyes boring into my back and turned. He was right behind me, so close that it almost made me tumble backwards. He reached out his arm and caught me easily, our faces so close. The moon reflected on his silver hair, making it shimmer and made his eyes seem a much brighter blue then it was.

His hand reached up and my breathing stopped. His fingers wrapped around a curl, tucking it behind my ear. I eyed his lips with curiosity and a sudden lust. God, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him so bad that it was all I could think of.

His eyes were on my face, his hand still in my hair. I cautiously wrapped an arm around his shoulders, his other arm wrapped around my back, holding me up.

My legs felt like jello, and I could barely breathe now. We were so close, the proximity was making my head spin with ideas that I would've loved to try on him.

"We should get back to the hotel," his voice was barely above a whisper, husky, gruff, almost.

I nodded, unable to find my voice; his eyes were pulling me into him, making me drown in those endless pools of different shades of blue. His hand was tracing circles on my back, and I realized that I was toying with his hair.

"André, Hélène! Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you!" Melinda yelled, climbing onto the ship.

He pulled away abruptly, causing me to stumble. I unwound myself from him and stood a few feet away from them.

"We were following a lead, and got pretty close to them, but they're gone now," his voice was still soft, almost dazed.

I nodded, walking away from them, an empty feeling in my heart. We had been so close, the tension was almost tangible; and yet she had to ruin the moment.

"He is not yours, Ziva," I chastised myself once again, no matter how badly I wanted him to be, he would never be mine.

I began to walk off the boat, stepping onto the dock. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, wishing against all odds that that moment could've lasted forever and that it wasn't just a silly dream. I got into the Honda before they even got off the boat, and to my embarrassment, began to cry.

I cried for what I couldn't have, for what I could've had if I had just pushed further on. I cried for how impossible this situation was and how much it hurt. I cried for how much he was getting to me, my walls were now in ruins, and he was in; I couldn't get him out, not now. He was etched into my being, we were so close that I couldn't find where he ended and I began anymore.

And that all made it hurt even more.

He was hurting me, and I couldn't put up my walls against him anymore because he was already in, he was inside me, he was my every thought.

I looked up and saw them walking towards us, hand in hand. I quickly wiped away my tears, and steeled myself, my face a blank canvas.

"Ziva, are you alright, you have many bruises," Melinda began, her eyes locking onto mine.

I shook my head, "They are just bruises, they will heal."

She nodded, sitting in the back. I looked at Gibbs, who was also getting into the back with her and realized that I would be driving. Just great, because I was in a _perfect _state to drive, yeah, sure, ok.

I started the engine, and threw the car into reverse, and headed towards the hotel, taking sharp turns, scanning every corner, and at the same time, trying to keep my heart from breaking anymore then it already was.

Gibbs POV

I looked into the rearview mirror and swore that I saw a tear slide down her cheek and felt my heart wrench. Her eyes locked into mine, and I could see that she was indeed crying.

The moment was brief, and she turned away again, her eyes focused solely on the road before us.

"Jethro," Melinda began, and I heard Ziva bark out a cough, "Do you need me to take care of you when we get back?"

I shook my head, quickly declining the offer, "Nah, it's fine, I'll be fine."

We pulled up into the parking lot and Ziva cut the engine, getting out of the car and walking swiftly up the stairs to the just awaking hotel.

I walked in after her, and felt my temper rise. There was a man next to her, seemingly flirting with her. I saw her cast him a smile and my fists clenched together in anger. I walked up beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.

The man eyed my arm with distaste, and asked her, "Il est ton marie?" (He is your husband?)

She laughed and nodded, "Oui, IL s'appelle André. Jean, je regrette, mais, je suis très fatigue. Au' voir!" (Yes, his name is André. John, I regret, but I am very tired, good bye!)

She turned away from the man, a small smile on her face. I pushed the button to open the elevator, and when it opened, I pulled her inside roughly, hitting the emergency stop switch as soon as the doors closed.

"What the hell was that, Ziva?" I asked, pressing her against the wall, my hands on her arms.

"What the hell was what? I was simply being polite," her innocent act didn't fool me, her eyes were saying something else.

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" I asked incredulously.

She looked at me like I was crazy, "Gibbs, why would I do that, we are not even together."

With that, she flipped the elevator back on and we descended towards the fifth floor. I released her, a numb sense of pain washing over me. We weren't together, I reminded myself, so I had no jurisdiction over her, other than my partner.

**Yeah, this chapter's slow I know, just getting started! Next chapter will be better, I promise REVIEW! Thanks a bunch! Oh, if I get enough reviews, I might just give you another chapter today (:**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, haha thanks for reviewing! I'm tempted to wait and see how many reviews I get, but I don't want to be a total ass, so, on with the story! OH AND BTW IF YOU AREN'T 18 OR OLDER OR YOU CAN'T HANDLE SEX SCENE SKIP THE MIDDLE! **

Ziva POV

I stumbled out of the elevator, and walked away from Gibbs, heading straight towards our room. I fumbled with the key and finally stuck it into the lock, turning it, and stepping into the room and froze.

The once white bed sheets were stained with blood, papers scattered everywhere and it looked like every corner of the room had been searched at least twice.

I heard the door open behind me and turned to see Gibbs coming in, an irritated expression on his face. When he saw the mess, he froze, just like me.

"What the hell happened here?" He asked, cautiously going forward, gun drawn.

I followed his lead slipping into one of the bedrooms. I looked into the small bathroom and found that it was vacated. I walked towards the bed, and to my surprise, it was perfectly made, it didn't look like anyone had gone past the center room joining the two bedrooms.

"Melinda, did they find it?" I heard Gibbs ask from the other room. I walked out of the bedroom and walked into the other room where Melinda sat on the bed, the case in her hand.

She shook her head, "They were looking for the case, but I brought it with me when I went out looking for the two of you. All they took were a few documents with your names. I can duplicate them easily."

He nodded and turned to me, "Give Vance a call, tell him what happened and that we have a mole."

I nodded, pulling out my phone and dialing the director's number. I waited and after three rings, he picked up.

"Vance," he answered gruffly.

"Ah, mon père! Comment Ça va?" (How are you) I smiled, hoping that Ducky was there.

"I don't speak French, David," he sighed, and I heard him call his receptionist for Ducky.

"Hang on just for a second while he gets here."

I nodded, "Oui, oui, merci."

Gibbs looked at me questionably, his eyes searching mine. I grabbed a note pad and a pen and scribbled out the words: We might be watched, we must keep up appearances.

"Ziva, my dear, how are you? The director has asked me to come speak with you?"

"Oui, um, Il y a quelqu'un distribuant nos informations. Notre chambre d'hôtel a été fouillée," ( There is somebody giving away our information. They searched our hotel room.) I began, earning a suspicious look from Gibbs.

"Ah, yes my dear, I understand. Keep going, what were they looking for, exactly?" Ducky asked, I could almost hear the concern in his voice.

"Un cas en argent," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Alright, well, did they find it?"

I shook my head, "Non, mon mari et moi l'avons protégé." (No, my husband and I kept it safe.)

"Good, good, I will pass this information to Vance, good bye, my dear."

I nodded, clamping the phone shut, and turning to face Gibbs and Melinda who were looking at me with interest.

"You speak French?" Melinda asked incredulously.

I nodded, "Yes, and Hebrew, Russian, English, and Spanish."

She nodded, looking impressed. I turned towards Gibbs, "I told Ducky, he will give the information to Vance and then he will give us a call telling us what we should do."

He nodded, and my mind couldn't help but wander towards out encounter on the ship, how close we were, how his cologne smelled mixed with sweat and his own scent. I loved the way his eyes had sparkled with emotion, and I swear, I thought that we were going to kiss, which just made my head hurt even more. The way his lips would taste on mine, moving in perfect synchronization, trailing soft kisses down my neck.

"Ziva, we have that ball we have to get dressed for," Gibbs whispered, bringing me back to the present.

I looked at my watch; it was now about 7am. We still had plenty of time left before the evening ball. I nodded, and walked away from them, away from the hurt that had been gnawing at me since we had drifted apart. I walked into the separate room, looking at the footage the telescope had captured.

I saw glimpses of men in black, being given orders and stationed around the hotel, one of them pointing their camera towards our window. I sighed in frustration, looking at the timer at the bottom of the screen, it was about 11:46 pm, Melinda's watch.

"Melinda!" I yelled, calling both of them in here, leaping to my feet, pausing the footage and angrily pointing at the screen.

"Why did you not tell me that you had seen them coming?" I practically yelled at her.

She shook her head, "I did not see them, Agent David, can you blame me for being tired?"

Her tone was snarky, her lips pulled into a smirk. I wanted to punch her in the face right then and there.

"I was half asleep and yet I saw them with the telescope, so don not tell me that you were not able to see them, when they are so clearly portrayed!"

I glared at Melinda, my eyes boring holes into her head. God, she could've saved us so much trouble! We could've died if we hadn't been as fast as we had been. She was basically gambling with our lives here!

To my horror, Gibbs laid a hand on her shoulder, fixing me with his blue eyes, "Ziva, she was half awake, you can't blame her for something you barely caught. You had to reply that several times just to get a face, so don't blame her if she didn't catch it the first time."

I felt my mouth drop, I was in so much shock that I could barely comprehend what he was saying.

"Gibbs, we could've died," I reminded him.

"Yeah, but we didn't die," he stated plainly.

I sighed, pushing past them. He was letting his emotions getting in the way of our operation, I needed a switch for partners, before the pain killed me.

I walked into the bathroom, my phone in my hand, and began dialing Tony's number, waiting for him to answer with tears in my eyes.

He had betrayed me, again. How could he take her side when he knew that I was right? Was he really that blind? God dammit!

"Very Special Agent DiNozzo here," I could hear the smile in his voice and felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"T-Tony, it's Ziva," I whispered, my voice breaking.

I heard a crash, "Ziva! Oh my god, are you alright? You sound really upset."

I shook my head, "No, Tony, I am not alright. How long do you think it would take you to fly out to Paris?"

There was a silence, and then I heard footsteps in the background, "Why, what happened to Gibbs?"

I shook my head again, the tears not running freely, "No, he is fine. I just cannot work with him anymore. Do not ask, I just cannot."

I sat down on the floor, and waited for his response, my heart thumping in my chest.

"Sorry Ziva, no can do. I just ask Vance, you're stuck with Gibbs. What happened?" He asked, his voice soft.

"Melinda, our contact, is distracting Gibbs. He defended her when her mistake could've cost us our lives," I hissed into the phone.

"God Ziva, I'm sure he didn't mean to. He might just be getting over some things, he'll probably explain tomorrow, now go to sleep. It's late here."

I sighed, "Alright, good night, Tony."

I pressed the end button and sat down on the floor, curling myself up into a ball, leaning back against the bathtub. Did he really not feel what I felt on that boat? Was he really that blind?

Gibbs POV

I listened to their conversation, my heart breaking over each word she said. She wanted a new partner? She wanted _DiNozzo _as her new partner? God dammit, Gibbs, you really did screw this one up.

I could hear her crying and my hand clamped down on the handle, easily breaking through the lock and going in. When I opened the door and saw her curled up on the floor leaning against the bath tub, I felt my heart break even more. I quickly closed the door and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close to me.

"Ziver, I was wrong, I was so, so wrong," I whispered, letting her cry into my shoulder.

She looked up, her eyes red, "How could you do that to me? You betrayed me, your partner, even when you knew that I was right!"

I sighed, shaking my head, "Ziver, I defended her only because she looks so much like Jenny, I thought I had lost her when she was lying dead in the diner, but now, it's like she's back."

I looked into her eyes, tilting her head up to meet my eyes. I wiped away her tears and cupped her face in my hands. I wanted to kiss her so bad, kiss away her tears, pull her close to me and never let her go. I had to let go of Jen, I realized, I had to move on.

"Gibbs," she began, but I cut her off.

"It's Jethro, Ziver," I whispered.

She gave me a small watery smile, and I leaned in to kiss her. My lips molded into hers, soft at first, testing, tasting. She responded almost immediately, as if she had been waiting for this for some time now.

Then, it deepened, both of us fighting for dominance. My lips pushed hard against hers, my tongue parting her lips and gently slipping in. I pulled her unbearably close to me, so that we were chest to chest. Her lips were so sweet, her tongue against mine, our bodies molding into one. I felt her hands on my shirt, hastily pulling it away, and she pulled back ever so slightly to admire my body.

I smiled at her, my hands in her hair. She smiled back at me, her eyes bright and suggestive.

"Ziver, if we go any further, I don't think I'll be able to stop," I whispered, feeling something bulging in between my jeans.

She smiled, "I do not want you to stop, Jethro, I never want you to stop."

I smiled at her, and began to take off her shirt as well, in my haste; I ripped away the buttons and threw it to the floor, admiring her in her black lacy bra. I stroked the edge with my finger and felt her shudder beneath my touch.

Her hand reached back and she turned on the water, I pulled her up onto the bathroom counter, sliding her jeans and panties off, wrapping one leg around my waist. I began kissing her again, my mouth going over hers hungrily. She responded with just as much hunger, my hands on her thighs, stroking the soft delicate skin I had been dreaming of.

I felt her hands tug at my belt and let her undo it, and let her slide off both my boxers and jeans. I lifted her from the counter, her legs still wrapped around me and got into the tub, my hard erection pressing near her warm, wet center.

My hands traveled down and into her sweet spot, teasing her, causing her to moan and twist in my grip. I slid her against the wall, positioning her perfectly.

"Oh God, Jethro, please," she begged, her arms around me.

I smiled, not done playing with her, and kept on stroking her. I felt her cum onto my finger and smiled, looking up into her face; I placed a soft kiss on her lips and felt her hand go down onto my crotch. She began stroking it and I heard a moan escape from my lips and felt myself pull her in closer.

"Ziver, stop teasing, please," I begged, moaning as I got harder.

She smiled and let go of me, looking at me expectantly. I looked at her for confirmation and she nodded, her head leaning against the wall. I plunged into her, causing her back to arch off of the wall and felt myself gasp in pleasure, god she was so damn tight! I thrust into her over and over again, I felt her nails dig into my back and felt a groan slip out of my mouth. My hand reached up and cupped her breast, teasing her tart nipple. I took the other nipple into my mouth, flicking at it with my tongue. I heard her moan and slide into me again, and smirked. I looked up and instantly, she captured my mouth with hers, our lips moving together.

The water rolled down our sweaty backs after half an hour, leaving both of us panting for air. My arms were still wrapped tightly around her, our bodies pressed close together.

I looked at her, placing a kiss on top of her head, "That was amazing," I whispered into her hair.

She smiled, "Yes, it was; but we must get out before _Melinda _comes in."

Ziva POV

I tried to get out of his grip, but it never loosened to my delight. I snuggled closer to his chest, my head lying against him. I smiled, I had wanted this for so long, and now that I had finally gotten it, it felt so amazing.

I wanted to tell him I love him, but I didn't know how to put it, and I didn't know how he would react. I felt the water run cold, and finally stood up, turning the water off, I reached for two towels and handed one to him and wrapped one tightly around myself. We both got out of the shower together, trying to get dressed up stopped in between to kiss.

I smiled, "I love you," I whispered into his ear.

He smiled back, "I love you too, Ziver."

He placed his hands on my hips, toying with my lacy underwear, his finger wrapping around the lace and unwinding it over and over again.

I laughed, and pulled on my jeans from the previous night and pulled on my top again before he could do anything else. I then took my time admiring his bare chest; his sculpted abs and chest were shinning with a faint layer of sweat.

He laughed, "Ziver, if you keep staring at me like that, we'll be in here forever."

I laughed back, "Yes, we will, but you do not hear me complaining."

He brushed my hair back with his hand and tucked a loose curl behind my ear, and then kissing my cheek, laying his lips there.

I sighed, loving the feel of his lips on my bare skin. The moment our lips had first met, was when my last defenses had fallen down, leaving me fully exposed. That was when he came into me, holding me close to him, telling me that it was OK. I realized that he was my new wall, so powerful, so strong, and so. . ._right. _

I pulled away from him reluctantly, "We should go see if Melinda gathered any information yet."

He sighed and nodded, opening the door and stepping out. I followed behind him, my face blank, hiding all my emotions. God, I felt so amazing! I would never forget Paris, I realized, I would forever remember it as the place where we had finally let our defenses down and given in to each other, a place where we had finally admitted our love. Now, let's just hope it lasts.

**Ah, wasn't that sweet? Well, now that they admitted it, the action stops…NOT this just makes it a LOT more interesting! Thanks for the reviews, and keep on reviewing! Makes my day haha. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for reviewing! As promised, here is the next chapter!**

Gibbs POV

I watched her walk in front of me, admiring her curves from behind. I remembered every detail so clearly now, as clearly as I had remembered the night Jenny and I had made love. It was just as passionate, and just as sweet. She taught me how to love again, I realized.

"Gibbs, come here for a moment, we have to open this case, find out what is in it and why everyone wants it so bad," Melinda called.

I sighed, taking Ziva's hand and pulling her into the room with me. She sat in the chair near the desk with our equipment, and Melinda sat on the bed, patting a spot next to her for me. I sat down next to her, glaring at the case that refused to open.

"Do you have the combination figured out?" I turned to Ziva, fixing her with my gaze.

She shook her head once, and reached for the case, but Melinda stopped her.

"No, you were not supposed to be here in the first place to see this. Only Gibbs and I can see what is in this case because we are the ones in charge," she said her voice perfectly even.

I saw a flash of anger wash over Ziva's features, and she stood to her feet, "You do not deserve to be in charge if you can get your ass handed to you by me."

Melinda stood up, even though she was a few inches shorter then Ziva, she looked just as fierce. I got up from the bed, stepping in between the two, my hands on both of their shoulders.

"I don't want a fight breaking out here; Ziva can stay because if something happens to me, she has to know what's in the damn case!" I yelled over them.

Melinda glared at me, her green eyes piercing into mine. I didn't flinch, and simply glared back. After a few minutes, she sighed, muttered something in French and sat back on the bed, fingering the lock pad.

Ziva quickly took the case out of her hands and began to try out the list of combinations she had listed on a pad of paper.

I stood behind her, watching as her fingers worked at the lock, "How do you know that you're going to get this one cracked open?"

"I do not, but it can not hurt to try," she replied, her eyes never leaving the case.

We waited for about two hours, I passed it by staring at Ziva, watching her nimble fingers twist and turn the lock, watched how her wet hair cascaded down her shoulders and fell at her back, watched how her brown eyes seemed to change color by the sun light and smiled.

"Ziver, you might as well give it up; that thing's not gonna open," I told her gently, my hand resting on her shoulder.

"Plus, you look like you could use some sleep," I whispered in her ear.

She sighed, and nodded, pushing the case away, she walked into the other room, and climbed into bed, kicking off her boots and jeans in the process so that she was lying in only her tank top and panties. I climbed in next to her, sliding off my shirt and jeans.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her into my chest, and felt her snuggle in deeper against me.

"Sweet dreams, Ziver," I whispered into her ear, placing a kiss on her temple.

"You too, Jethro," she whispered, and she was out like a light.

Ziva POV

I felt something hot on the back of my neck and began to stir. I tried moving, but something was stopping me. Looking down, I saw that his arms were wrapped around me, so that we were pressed against each other. I smiled, not wanting to wake him, I turned slowly so that we were chest to chest.

I came face to face with bright blue eyes and gasped, "Jethro you scared me!"

He laughed, brushing away my hair from my face, "I was just watching you sleep, Ziva, you're so peaceful when you're asleep."

I blushed, "Thank you," I turned over again and looked at the clock, it was already five pm! The ball was going to start in less than two hours!

I sat up in bed, brushing at my hair and swung my legs over the side.

"We have to get ready, or we'll be late," I tossed over my shoulder, going to the closet and picking out a deep purple dress with virtually no back and a low v-neck front.

I heard him behind me and smiled, "Do you like this one, Monsieur Deveraux?"

He laughed, "I love it, Ziva," he picked out a matching purple button down shirt and put on a black blazer and black slacks.

I handed him a navy blue and black tie and began to undress, fully away that his eyes were on me the whole time.

I felt his hands slide around waist and smiled up at him, "I can't get dressed if you are going to be holding me the whole time; we have enough time for that at the ball."

He laughed and nodded, turning around to get dressed as well. I slid out of my tank top and threw it to the floor, sliding on the dress. The cool silk felt good on my already burning skin, curling itself around every curve on my body, and that's when I realized that someone was watching me. I turned around, and surely, there he was.

My breath caught in my throat, he looked absolutely stunning. The shirt was fitted to his chest, accenting his already bright blue eyes.

"Like what you see, David?" He asked, with a smirk on his face.

I laughed, leaning in to kiss him, "Yes, I do, very much."

I walked out of the closet, picking up a pair of strappy silver heels on my way out and pulling them on.

I looked in the full length mirror to see a slit going up my leg, almost to my waist. The dress tied at the back of my neck, leaving my full back exposed. I pulled my hair through with a straightner, and pulled it into an elegant bun.

"Hélène, André, come here," I heard Melinda call and hastily walked out of the bathroom to stand in front of her, taking the ear wigs she had in her hand and fixing it into my ear.

"Ziva, you need a weapon on you," she muttered, taking a knife and sliding her hand easily into my dress from behind, clipping the knife into place beneath the waistband.

I looked at the clock, it was almost time and we should've been heading out already.

"We should go," I whispered in Gibbs's ear just as he loaded his gun and slipped it into his jacket pocket. He nodded, offering his arm and I took it, and we walked out the door.

I looked at him, "Ball room, 8th floor."

H e nodded, smiling at me as he hit the elevator button, "You look beautiful, you know that?"

I laughed, "You don't' look so bad yourself, André."

We arrived at the entrance and walked through the doors into an elegant ball room setting. The ceiling rose into a golden dome with intricate art drawn into the marble. The room was littered with marines and their dates, each man with a glass of either champagne or wine in their hand. I scanned the room, looking for any familiar faces but didn't see any.

I looked towards the band to see that a slow dancing song had begun and pulled him onto the dance floor, "We'll have a better view from here," I whispered in his ear.

He laughed, pulling me close to him, his hands on my lower back. I leaned my head on his shoulder, scanning the crowd for familiar people.

"Do you see anyone?" I heard him whisper into my ear.

I shook my head, "Not yet, but I am pretty sure that they are here."

He nodded, and began to twirl me around, causing several whistles to hoot through the otherwise still air. I laughed, letting him move my body close to his once more.

"I am going to go get a drink," I whispered in his ear, kissing him.

He nodded, and began to stray towards the small clusters of men, looking for the terrorists that we were hidden in the group while also keeping an eye on me.

I reached for a glass of champagne from a passing by waiter and cautiously sipped it, my eyes darting around the room.

"Do you see anything?" Melinda asked.

"No, they're all dressed the same, basically," I whispered.

Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap tight around my waist and turned around to come face to face with the man we had been looking for.

"Make any move to contact you partner and I will kill you in front of innocent by standers," he hissed in my ear.

I felt my blood run cold and nodded once, letting him lead me towards the front doors. I looked up just in time to see Gibbs heading towards us, a glass of wine in his hand, his brows knit together. I gave him a quick shake of the head, telling him to back off.

He roughly tugged me out of the room, and pressed the elevator button, I felt the point of his gun rest at my temple and my hand went into my dress slowly reaching for my gun.

He pulled me into the elevator and pressed the button for roof. I looked at him, my eyes hard and unwavering.

"You are a savage bastard for doing this to a woman," I hissed in his face, hoping Melinda could hear me.

"Ziva where are you? Is Gibbs with you?" I heard her ask.

"Non, roof," I mumbled, trying to hide it with a cough. The elevator dinged again and he pulled me out, the gun pressing harder into my temple.

"How many terrorist groups are there?" I asked, trying to get some more information for Melinda.

"It is of no use to you, since you are about to die," he answered back, pulling me tighter.

"Just tell me, how many are you?" I pressed on, hoping that Gibbs wouldn't come here until after I was dead. I couldn't bear to see and feel his heart break when he realized that there was nothing he could do to save me.

"There are over three hundred of us scattered around Europe, each of us split and following the ship," he answered, sounding bored.

I nodded, hoping that Melinda had had the sense to tape the intel, or at least remember it.

"So, any last words before you die?" He asked.

"Yeah, how about let go of her, you bastard," I turned around to see Gibbs right in front of us, his gun aimed at the man's forehead. His face was almost red with anger, and I could see the fire burning behind his eyes.

He laughed, "You do not make the decisions here, André, not when I have the choice between sparing your wife and killing her."

I felt his grip tighten around me and felt the cool medal of the knife in my hands and slowly drew it out, hoping that he wouldn't notice. I felt a bead of sweat run down my brow even though it was probably only 20 some degrees out side.

I caught Gibbs's eye, and he realized what I was doing, and instantly began to talk to him.

"You're right, but you wouldn't take a life here, not when I could just as easily kill you after," he said, his forefinger never relaxing on the trigger.

I looked up into the mans face, hoping that he was too intent on their conversation to notice my movements, and plunged the knife into his lower abdomen, swinging out of his grip and ducking, just barely missing the shot.

I didn't hesitate to twist the gun out of his hand and shoot him twice, watching as the life was drained from his eyes.

I looked at Gibbs, he had a relieved smile on his face and ran forward to hug me, his arms encircling my body.

"You worry me, David," he whispered into my ear.

I laughed, "Just as you worry me, Jethro."

"Do you know where their camps are yet?" He asked, abruptly pulling away from me.

I shook my head, admiring how the snow flakes seemed to just melt in his silky hair, the way his eyes danced over mind in the moonlight. I couldn't help but connect it to last night, when I had experienced the same thing on the boat.

He nodded, "You must be freezing, here." He shrugged off his jacket and draped it around my shoulders, engulfing me in his sweet scent.

He lead me down the roof, and we climbed into the elevator together. He hit the lobby button and I looked at him, my gaze questioningly.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my tone soft.

He looked at me, and smiled, "Melinda is taking us to the Eiffel tower to celebrate. That means I can take you out for our first date."

I laughed, and followed him out of the elevator, walking down into the lobby and out of the gates. I saw the Honda almost immediately, but something seemed amiss.

I looked at Gibbs, and saw that he sensed it too. He pushed me roughly behind him, using his body as a shield, he scanned the area in front of him, I scanned the area behind and to my surprise, saw a sniper at the roof of the hotel.

I looked back down and saw that the laser was pointed straight at Gibbs' head.

"There is a laser, it is trained on your head," I whispered, barely moving my lips.

He didn't react, just kept on glaring at the night, "I know."

I continued to glare at the sniper, and then abruptly pushed him down, the shot whistling right above my head.

I quickly helped him up and we were bolting for the car in an instant. I wrenched the back doors open and pushed Gibbs in before me, looking back to see gun men appearing from the shadows with snipers in hand. I quickly got in, dodging several more bullets and slammed the door behind me.

I heard the tires squeal and we were soon speeding down the road, taking sharp turns and going to impossible feats to loose our attackers.

I looked at Gibbs, "So much for our date."

He nodded, "Yeah, because being on the run is so much better," he said sarcastically.

3:45 am

Ziva POV

"Let me drive, Lin, you look like you're going to collapse on the wheel," Gibbs sighed, climbing into the front seat with me. We had been switching off for the past six hours, and yet they were still behind us. The only good part was that the firing had finally ceased and that Melinda had the sense to pack up all of our things.

She sighed, and nodded, switching places with him and climbing into the back seat to get some rest.

I felt him looking at me, and turned to come face to face with those blue eyes I was so madly in love with.

"Ziver, get some rest, you look tired," his voice was soft, he laid his hand on my cheek and stroked it once, before letting his hand drop.

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine. Just keep driving," I whispered back, my tone husky.

He nodded, and I watched the car accelerate from 70 mph to 120 mps, and still going. I didn't feel at all bothered by the speed the car was going because it was just how we both drove. Suddenly, the firing began a new and I felt the car give a shudder as the bullet slammed into one of the tires.

The roads were already slick with ice and snow so when we lost the tire, the car began spinning. I fumbled for the gun that I had just recently obtained from the man on the roof and saw that the car had gone from behind us, to directly in front of us. My hands were shaking as the car spun in circles, my body banging against the doors.

I fired twice out the closed window and saw it hit the driver in the face and saw him go down, just as our car flew into a snow bank. I felt my head jerk to the right and I felt it go through the window.

I felt the blinding pain before I heard his voice, calling my name. Then, everything was silent and I couldn't feel anything.

"Jethro, where are you? I love you," I tried to tell him, but my lips wouldn't move. I finally succumbed to the on coming darkness, and let it pull me under, its waves suffocating me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ah, come on guys I'm running low on ideas so give me some in your reviews! Love hearing from you guys (:**

Ziva POV

I woke up when I heard a car door slam, several seconds later, jerking myself awake, my head pounding and blood pooling beneath me. I couldn't focus on anything; I only saw slivers of faces that I didn't recognize. I griped my gun harder, my whole arm trembling; I aimed the gun and fired twice, killing off the first man.

My arm ached, and my head was practically pounding, my vision was blurring in and out, so when the next man came up to try and get into the car, I could only pull the trigger once, hopping against hope that it hit the right spot.

I watched him go down, and waited for my vision to clear, my hand still trembling and my forefinger still resting on the trigger, ready to shoot. I waited, and the silence continued to stretch on, I felt sweat mingle with the blood on my face despite the chilling cold and shuddered.

"Ziva?"

I tried to turn, but couldn't. I looked up, and was met with a pair of startling blue eyes. He wrapped his hand around my gun and gently lowered it, kneeling against me so that I could get a better look at his face.

"Ziva, how much pain are you in?" He asked, his hand still holding mine.

I couldn't talk, I could barely keep breathing. His free hand snaked up and pulled my hair away from my face, and I felt the glass points press deeper into my skin and gave a sharp cry.

"She needs a hospital," Gibbs growled, turning to look at someone behind him.

I felt my eyelids getting heavy, and fought against the dark waves that wanted to pull me back under, refusing to succumb.

"We are stuck in this snow! No one can get to us," Melinda shrieked impatiently.

He let out a string of curse words and climbed into the car with me, cradling me to his chest, he pulled out his phone and began to dial for help anyways.

I rested my head on his chest, and I felt him stroke my hair; telling me, "Stay with me, Ziva, you gotta stay with me on this one."

I wanted to, god I wanted to stay with him forever, forever wrapped in his arms. I couldn't fight the pain that was slowly consuming me, but I tried for his sake.

"Duck, we got a problem. It's Ziva. Her head crashed through a window, there's glass all over it, how do I get it out?" I heard him ask, his voice seemed so far away now.

I couldn't hear the response and decided that I didn't need to. I was about to die anyways, why not just block out all the painful images and just remember being held by him?

"OK, thanks Duck, I'll be in touch," he snapped the phone shut and proceeded to comfort me, while reaching back to get the first aid kits.

"Ziva, I know you're hurting, and I hate to make it worse, but I have to get the glass out of you before it gets infected," he whispered, taking out a pair of pincers and began to pull at the glass.

I had a strange sense of experiencing this before, and struggled to remember when he had done the same thing to me. I felt myself drift towards sleep and was abruptly shaken awake.

"Ziva, you can't sleep; well not yet at least. I have to keep you awake to make sure that you don't have a concussion," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my temple.

I shook my head, I wanted to sleep now, I wanted the pain to stop more than anything right now. I looked up into his blue eyes, silently pleading for him to make it stop. He looked back at me, and I could see the pain and defeat in his eyes. He wanted to keep the pain away from me, but he couldn't without losing me.

"Jethro," I whispered, "I. . .love. . .you."

I felt my eyes close and this time, they stayed closed.

Gibbs POV

"What? No! Ziva, come on hun, wake up, Ziva, _wake up!" _I yelled desperation written in my voice and face.

"Her pulse is barely there, if not already gone. We have to get her onto a flat surface so I can give her CPR while you get the glass out," Melinda stated, and began pulling her out of my arms.

I nodded, numb. I looked at her horribly still figure, her abnormal pasty complexion and the blood that seemed to coat her hair. I shook the thoughts away and knelt besides her, laying my jacket on the snow and began to remove the glass while Melinda conducted CPR. My hands were surprisingly steady as I pulled out each piece of glass that was embedded in her skull. The blood seeped out of the small wounds after each piece was removed, coating my hands in her blood.

I got out a special dye and poured it into the wounds as Ducky had instructed and to my amazement, the bleeding stopped almost immediately.

"Melinda, is her heart beating again?" I asked anxiously.

She nodded, "Pulse is normal, but we should get her warmed up. It's freezing out here."

I nodded, pulling her body close to mine, wrapping my jacket around her small frame and got back into the car, sitting her in the back seat while I sat beside her.

I looked at Melinda, "Any chance we can drive off in this snow?"

She shook her head, "It's too thick, and the ice is just a mess around her."

I sighed, and nodded. So, I thought, we're stuck in the middle of Paris, where there are no houses, and apparently no civilization.

I reached up front and flicked on the heat, to my surprise, I was hit with a wave of warmth and sighed in relief. I looked at Ziva beside me, brushing away her hair from her heart shaped face, and kissing her full on the mouth.

"You'll be alright, Ziva, just hang in there," I whispered.

Ziva POV

I felt someone's lips on mine and struggled to open my eyes. The pain was gone now, and I could feel the cold seeping into my skin. I heard voices and instantly recognized his voice, soft and careful.

"Do you think they're going to send another team after us?" He asked.

"No, not until this snow clears up," she responded.

I felt his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, reassuring him that I was still there, that I would always be there for him.

"Ziva, can you hear me?" He whispered into my ear, his breath tickling my skin.

I opened my eyes with a jerk and nodded my head slowly, testing to see if the pain lingered.

"Can you say anything?" He then asked, giving me a smile.

"Yes, I am freezing my ass off," I mumbled, and sat up in his arms.

He laughed heartedly and pulled me into his arms, kissing me. My lips moved against his, pulling him in closer, deeper.

He pulled away abruptly, "Right, now that I know you're awake, we should call SECNAV and tell them that our covers been blown wide open."

He pulled out his phone again but I stopped him, "No, it's not. They just think we are interfering and know too much. All they know is our names are Hélène and André Deveraux. But we should call Vance and tell him our situation, in case he can help."

He thought for a minute and nodded, dialing the Directors number.

"Yeah, Vance, we need a new car here ASAP, trace the call. No, I didn't wreck it on purpose; I'm not a blind bastard! They tailed us, shot at us, and we hit something. Just send us a car," he growled, barking out orders.

He hung up the phone after that, and pulled me closer to his chest, "You sure you're OK? You look pretty pale."

I nodded, "Blood lose. It'll pass soon so do not worry."

He laughed, "Yeah, OK, well this has been one hell of an undercover op so far, huh?"

I laughed back, "Yes I agree."

Tony POV

"Special Agent DiNozzo," I answered, leaning back against my chair and staring at Ziva's empty desk.

"DiNozzo, both you and McGee, up in my office, now," then the line went dead.

I sighed, this wasn't going to be fun in the least.

"Hey! Probie, the Director wants to see us, come on," I called, grabbing my jacket and heading towards the stairs.

"What do you think he wants, Tony?" McGee asked, keeping pace with me.

I shook my head, "Probably something to do with the two empty spots on our team."

I walked into the Directors office and sat down in one of the leather chairs, McGee instinctively took the one next to mine.

"What's up, Director?" I asked, twiddling my fingers.

"Ziva and Gibbs are in some deep trouble; they need a car sent to their location and possibly medical help," he stated bluntly, his brown eyes never wavering for a second.

My breath caught in my throat, Ziva and Gibbs were hurt? Dammit! I knew I should've gone with them, I thought.

"And what do you want us to do about it, Director? Because last time I checked, we aren't a car rental company," I barked, leaping to my feet.

"DiNozzo, I suggest you calm yourself before you get into any trouble," Vance said, his voice infuriatingly even.

I slammed my fist down on his desk, "No, I won't calm down! If you have sent me on that mission with them then maybe they wouldn't be hurt in the first place!"

"Tony," McGee whispered, tugging me back into my chair. He turned towards the Director and whispered, "What should we do?"

"Call up the NCIS in France, tell them the situation, and let them handle it. But under no circumstances are you to go to them now. Their cover isn't blown yet, but it's dangerously close."

McGee nodded, tugging me out the door with him. I was seething with anger hoped for Vance's sake that they would be alright; because if they weren't, I was going to have his head.

Gibbs POV

I looked down at the sleeping woman beside me and smiled. Despite our situation, she was still so beautiful. I tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear and pulled her into my lap, cradling her body against mine.

I looked up, hearing a car in the distance and instinctively going for my gun.

I looked at Melinda who was already in action, her gun pointed and ready to shoot.

I watched as the car got closer and closer and finally it pulled up beside us. A few men got out, each wearing a bullet proof vest with the letters NCIS written clearly in them. I let my guard down as they opened the doors and helped us out.

"What is wrong with the girl?" One of them asked, laying her in their van.

"We were being tailed, and the bastards started shooting. The car swerved when one of the bullets hit out tire and her head went through the glass," I told them calmly, my head spinning with that image.

I remembered seeing her head go through the window, the crash as the glass shattered and flew everywhere. I could almost feel the pain as if it were my own, and I could feel the wave of panic hit me again.

He nodded, and began whispering to the men around him, ordering them to look out for any suspicious activity.

"So," he began, "You guys are the ones in DC here on this op?"

I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest.

He looked up at me, "I'll go ahead and assume that you're Special Agent Gibbs and the woman before me is Special Agent David?"

I nodded again, looking the man up and down. He had sandy blond hair and blue eyes. He didn't look over the age of 25.

He was silent then, his fingers working on Ziva's head, I sat down in the snow, my head in my hands. I couldn't believe how close I had been to losing her, again. This op was dangerous, I thought to myself, Vance had told you that when he was explaining. He told you the risks it had. So how could you let her risk her neck out like that?

"Alright, well I've done all I can do. She should be fine. You want us to give you a ride to the hotel near the Abraham's docking point?"

I thought about it, turning to Melinda for confirmation. She nodded, "That would be wonderful."

I got to my feet and climbed into the van with them, riding beside Ziva. I looked down at her face to see that her eyes were now wide open, her brown eyes looking at nothing in particular.

"Where are we going?" She asked sleepily.

I laughed, "The hotel next to the Abraham, looks like Vance really wants us in the lions den after all."

Ziva POV

I watched as the snow fell through the window, and slowly sat up, struggling into the seat beside him. I watched the buildings pass by, each of them so quiet. They were so oblivious to the war that was raging outside, so oblivious to the lives that were being risked every day to protect them.

They would never realize it, I thought, because they got to live their lives the way they want to and they choose to block out the pain.

We pulled up at the dock and we piled out of the car. I stretched my legs as we were ushered into the hotel. It was the Bordeaux, to my relief. It was a different hotel, smaller and much less fancy. The walls were painted a dull white and the receptionist looked incredibly bored. But when she saw the men come in, she instantly sat up in her seat.

"How may I help you gentlemen?" She asked in heavily accented English.

Gibbs stepped up in front of her, "We need a hotel room, two that connect."

He pulled out of his pocket a handful of bills and tossed them to her, his expression irritated, "That should cover it."

The woman nodded uneasily, eyeing the men in bullet proof vests behind her.

I turned and looked at them, eyeing them up. They didn't look that old, some were in their mid twenties. It broke my heart to realize that they could die in any day and no one would realize it.

"You can all go back now, just leave the car, take a taxi," I told them, handing them each the money.

The man with the sandy colored hair smiled at me, "Thank you, Agent David. We'll be in touch."

They walked out, apparently recognizing him as their leader. Gibbs grabbed the keys from the counter and headed towards the elevator. I followed behind him, my expression blank.

Melinda got in after us after exchanging a few words with the leader. The doors closed and the elevator began its unbearably slow decent upwards.

I looked straight ahead, willing the doors to slide open. The silence that hung between us was almost unbearable.

"So, you managed to get yourself hurt once again? Mossad trained you to dodge bullets, and yet a simple crack of the head makes you helpless," Melinda hissed through her teeth.

I felt my anger spike up, but refused to answer her comment.

"Mossad trains you to be an assassin and you manage to not only jeopardize your life, but our lives as well!" She continues.

I felt my hands clench into fists and I chance a glance at Gibbs, who was oddly silent throughout this whole conversation.

"Mossad did train me to kill, if it was not for me, those men would have kidnapped all of us. I shot them down while I was half awake, in great pain. If you were in my position, you would have been worthless, you would have lied there, unable to move," I began, turning to face her, my face inches from hers, "You wouldn't have even tried."

She looked at me, her eyes wide with shock. I looked back, my gaze unwavering. I saw her hand fly up before it made contact with my face and grabbed it, effectively twisting it. She tried to keep the pain off of her face, but after a few seconds, she couldn't take it anymore and a tear escaped down her cheek. I quickly let go of her, and to my relief, the doors opened.

I got out of the elevator, and walked down the hall to our room. I waited for them to catch up and heard them whispering.

"That was uncalled for, Lin," Gibbs hissed.

"Yes it was! If you were against it, you should have spoken up in her defense, but sense you did not, you agree!" She hissed back.

There was a pause, "I don't entirely agree with you, but I do agree that she has to be more careful, and the fact that she was the only one injured doesn't help her case, and we could've been killed too, I realize that. But. . .

I felt my breathe catch in my throat and turned and ran away from the sound of their voice, I felt tears in my eyes, stinging and blurring my vision. I felt my legs burn and ache from climbing down seven flights of stairs, and finally, sat down on the very last step, tears running down my cheeks.

**REVIEW! I'm sick now so if you want an update soon, review! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Aw come on guys you can do better than that review!**

Ziva POV

I could practically hear my father's voice in my ear, hissing, "You've gotten too weak, staying in America has made you weak! If you have any of the training I have drilled in you for all those years, you will get up and go and track down the terrorists like you have tracked down Tali's killers!"

I thought for a minute, standing up and leaning against the wall. He was right, in a way. I could track them down and finish the mission here and now, without their help. I pulled out my phone, without a second thought and dialed the director's number.

"Vance," he answered gruffly. I could hear the squeak of leather behind him and knew that he was alone.

"Director Vance, this is Agent David. I need all the information you have gathered on their hideout," I told him, my voice hard.

There was a pause, "Agent David, are you sure you want to approach them now? It's too early to act."

I sighed in frustration, "They have gotten to us too many times; we want to finish it."

There was another pause which gave me the time to pull out a piece of paper from my pocket and a pencil.

"Alright, we have word that they're at the place where you car crashed, but we don't have any idea how many men are there or how many weapons they have."

I nodded, "Thank you, Director."

I clipped the phone shut and did a quick inventory. I had my gun with me, a knife, and about 100 Euros in my pocket, the distance wasn't far, and it wouldn't take me long to get back here. Plus, in this snow, no one would be out of their house until tomorrow at the earliest.

I pushed open the door and walked into the lobby, passed the receptionist who was looking at me with a strange glint in her eye, and out the door. I remembered how many turns the car had traveled on our way here and began to take those turns, running through the snow with blinding speed. I felt anger pushing me forward and a strange need to prove myself to them.

"Ziva, you can do better than that," I practically smelt my father's cigarette breath down my neck, pushing me on ever since I was a child. "Run faster," he commanded.

I nodded, and my legs pumped through the snow, barely leaving footprints. I took sharp turns, my eyes scanning left and right. I felt a strange sensation in my body and realized that I was beginning to build up my walls again.

Gibbs POV

""I don't entirely agree with you, but I do agree that she has to be more careful, and the fact that she was the only one injured doesn't help her case, and we could've been killed too, I realize that. But Ziva's strong and she did her best, she saved out lives!"

I abruptly walked away from her, seething with rage and anger. I wondered if Ziva had heard any of it, and when I looked down the hallway, expecting to find her there, only to be greeted with silence, I knew that she had.

"Dammit!" I swore, turning to face Melinda, my rage consuming me.

"What is it? Where is she?" She asked, looking around.

"She heard us and she took off!" I yelled at her, I glared at her, making her take a quick step back.

"Well, do you know where she has gone?" Melinda whispered, her voice barely audible.

I thought for a minute; if she had heard what Melinda had said, her training would've kicked in, making her think that she had something to prove to us. I felt my heart drop like a stone, and suddenly I couldn't breathe. The realization hit me like a kick in the gut, robbing me of breathe. She would go to the ends of the Earth just to prove her wrong, I realized, feeling sick.

"She went to find them, all of them."

I knew that she would, because she was just that good. She used to be a trained assassin, after all. The little snow outside alone wouldn't stop her. She was leaving herself exposed, and all we could do was wait.

"That is impossible, she is not that stupid!" Melinda yelled, suddenly regaining her voice.

I glared at her again, suppressing the urge to strange the ignorant woman.

"She isn't stupid period. But she's just that good that she'll find them, try and kill all of them, and just might get herself killed in the making."

I turned away then, shoving the key through the door and bursting inside, hoping against hope that she might be in there, that my gut was wrong for once. I searched every room, ever corner of each room, calling out her name, telling her to come out, but was only greeted with silence.

I sighed, my two fingers pinching the bridge of my nose. I walked into the room Melinda was in, to see her sitting at the desk, her laptop on, and typing rapidly.

"What the hell are you doing," I barked out, coming up behind her.

She turned her head slightly, glaring back, "Trying to trace her cell. Looks like she either tossed it or kept it off; the last signal I got from her was back at the hotel."

I sighed in frustration, all we could do was wait and hope that she was OK, or that she would turn on her damn phone and give us a call.

"Looks like we play the waiting game," I mumbled, collapsing into a chair, my thoughts spinning, and my heart threatening to explode.

Ziva POV

I leaned over the roof, my gun in my hand, my knife in the other. I could hear their voices, their boots against the freshly fallen snow. I had climbed up the fire escaped ladder onto an apartments roof to get a good look at the men. There were five of them, two were dusting for prints on the car, the other three standing guard.

I smiled to myself, this would be all too easy. My eyes darted over the small area where we crashed again and found three more gunmen hidden in the shadows, and my thoughts plummeted. I knew it wouldn't be that easy.

I decided to go for the gun men first, seeing as they were the biggest threat. I aimed my SIG and brought it down to eye level, lining it up precisely and pulled the trigger once, watching as the bullet dug straight into his forehead. I heard shouting, and instinctively ducked, hearing the sounds of shots being fired. I felt a few pass right over my head, and when she shooting stopped, I counted to three, before firing two more shots, taking out the gun men.

I ducked again as a shower of bullet washed past me. I looked around, found a medal can on the roof and grabbed it, adrenaline flowing through my veins. I threw it to the far corner, hearing the medal clatter against the apartment. The firing was instantly diverted there, and I shot up from my hiding spot, shooting the three men standing guard.

I looked around and saw that there were only two left now, and they were cowering against the wall, too shocked to even run. Without hesitation, I threw myself over the edge of the room, feeling the cool winter air slap against my face and my exposed body. I landed swiftly on my feet, and strode up to them.

They looked down, their eyes running up and down my body. I realized that I was still in that purple dress with the leather jacket and smiled, I flipped my hair back, my gun set at one of the men's head and my knife pressing against the other ones neck.

"Now, tell me where your boss is, tell me where every terrorist group you have in Europe is, or I will kill you both slowly and painfully," I hissed, barely recognizing my own voice.

One of them pulled out a PDA and with a shaking hand, handed it to me, his eyes wide with fear. I let my knife hand drop and grabbed it, putting it into my pocket.

I saw the man's fist out of the corner of my eyes and grabbed it, twisting it at an impossible angle while digging the gun deeper into the other man's head.

"You will not try anything, do you understand me?" I hissed at him, kicking him to the ground.

I looked at the man in front of me, who was now practically crying, and felt a tinge of sympathy. I looked into his doe like eyes and felt my heart splinter at the sight.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him quietly, my voice soft.

He sighed, he was openly crying now, "They said that they would help me and my wife. We have no money left, and our child is starving. I need the money," he answered quietly.

I felt sympathy for him, but at the same time, I couldn't let him go; he had already seen my face, he could relate the details to his superior, and compromise the mission.

I heard movement behind me, and looked down to see the man that I had kicked had gotten up and was now charging me. I grabbed the knife from the snow laden ground and smoothly slit his throat open, stopping him in his tracks.

At that moment, the man I had held at gun point moved. He twisted my arm behind me, making me crying and pushed me to the ground.

"You are too soft, and you trust too easily, Madame Deveraux. For that you will pay," he hissed. The softness in his voice was long gone, replaced by a hard edge that I hadn't heard before. I rolled onto my back, my free hand curling into a fist and punching him in the face. He staggered off of me, clutching his nose. I grabbed the gun and didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

I watched him fall to the ground, his eyes wide with shock.

"Your wife and child do not deserve such a slime for a husband or a father," I told him, my voice low.

He looked at me, still trying to breath, "You are right. . .thank you for taking my life."

His eyes closed and I felt a pang of guilt again. I had just killed a man that a child at home would probably cry over, never knowing that their father was a lying bastard.

My mind flashed back to when my mother had told Tali, Ari, and I that we were to leave. I could feel her hand on my cheek, wiping away my tears.

"Ziva, your father works for Mossad, a horrible organization, we must leave before he comes and finds us," she had told me, desperate.

I had shaken my head, thinking that my father was a man of honor, a man who had loved me all my life. I remembered when he used to spend time with us, used to come home at night and have dinner with us. He had taught me how to ride my first bicycle, but little did I know that he was going to teach me how to aim and shoot my first gun.

I had stayed behind, along with Tali and Ari. My mother gave us one last pleading look so filled with hurt that it made me want to cry again. She left then, suitcase in hand, into the waiting taxi. That was the last time I had seen her; and to this day I still wonder if she would be proud of me for breaking away, or disappointed that I had stayed with my father at all.

Suddenly, I felt a gun at the back of my head and my muscles tensed.

"Walk," the man hissed into my ear, forcing me to walk forward, closer and closer to the wall. I did as he said, my footsteps slow and cautious. When I was inches away from the brick wall, I turned to face him.

"Keep walking," he hissed, his face was covered with a mask, and I could barely make out bottomless black eyes behind them.

I took another step, and without warning spun away from him, my leg kicking out and wiping his legs right from under him. He fell onto his back, the gun rolling away. I felt fear spike into my body as I dove for the gun, only to be stopped when I felt his hand grab my hair and roughly pull me back. I turned around, my fist shooting out for his face. He swiftly grabbed it, the impact making my knuckles crack.

It didn't faze me, my other hand reached the gun and I shot him twice in the chest, his body collapsed back onto the snow, pulling me down with him. I rolled off him, prying his dead hand off of mine and lay there, panting, sweat coating my body and heat radiating off of me.

"Get up," I could hear my father's voice yelling at me, "Get up and track them down! You have the information now!"

I got up, looking around at the dead bodies, and felt sick. There was so much death already, and to think that this was just the beginning made me sick.

My hand went instinctively to the PDA I had in my jacket pocket, my finger running over the smooth screen. I wouldn't go alone, because I had no idea how many people were there.

I turned the corner and came face to face with a pair of blue eyes I knew only too well.

**OK looks like you guys need motivation! I'm not going to write until I get at least 10 reviews xD haha or somewhere close lol have fun waiting! **

**I'm evil i know -.- **


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews I knew you could do it! All you needed was a little motivation! SO here's the next chapter!**

Ziva POV

_I turned the corner and came face to face with a pair of blue eyes I knew only too well._

He grabbed my arm, his grip firm, his fingertips cutting deep into the jacket, almost hurting me.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled, his face pressed right up against mine so that we were just a few centimeters apart.

I took a deep breath and my hand went into my jacket pocket, pulling out the PDA and handing it to him. He looked at it and he looked like he wanted to toss it down the drain.

"What the hell is that?" He asked his blue eyes icy.

"It is the information on the terrorists, this should tell us where they are and when they are going to attack."

I roughly pulled away from him, my eyes looking into his. I could see hurt and anger in those once soft blue eyes. His eyes searched mine, as if they were invading my brain and seeing straight into my soul. It was unnerving that he could still do that, even after how much he had hurt me, he could still see deep within me and shake me up.

He broke the glare, and his eyes ran down my body. His hand came up to brush away the jacket and I gracefully stepped out of his way. He looked at me, surprise written on his features.

"I was just going to check if you were hurt," he began; his tone had changed considerably, now a soft murmur, a tone one uses to soothe a child.

I hated being talked down to, "I am fine, Gibbs. If you wish to attack them now, then let me at least get dressed and I will follow you."

His eyes slowly turned to face me, his glare back on, "Are you crazy, Ziva? There's a foot and a half of snow outside, and you want to hunt for them _now_?"

I shrugged, "I am fine whether or not we go and hunt them down now, this snow is nothing in Russia."

I looked around with distaste, I hated the wet slush as much as any man but I would go to the ends of the earth to prove to them that I am not weak, and I do not need help with anything.

"Let's go back to the hotel, I drove the van the team left back for us, it's just around the corner," he said, taking my arm and gently tugging me away from the bloody scene.

I let him rest his hand on my arm, feeling the goose bumps begin to rise once again. I slowly crushed the feeling with my newly built wall, and in a few seconds, I felt nothing.

I saw the black van up ahead and swiftly slid out of his grip, jogging towards it. I pulled open the passenger door to find Melinda seated in the front, her laptop in her lap.

She gave me a cold stare, "You are one stupid girl for coming out here alone, and you know that? God, you're probably hurt and need us to fix you up again, right? You don't deserve to be an agent at all!"

I glared at her, my temper wavering. My fist curled of it's own accord and I had to struggle to keep it straight at my side. I replied, in a deadly calm voice, "I am not hurt, as a matter of fact, I got the intel for where the terrorist groups are and when they are about to attack. If you were me, _you _would be dead so do not tell me that I do not deserve to be an agent when you yourself could not possibly pull off what I just did."

Her face paled considerably, her eyes wide. "You got the information?" She whispered.

I nodded curtly, climbing over her and into the back seat, sitting as still as a statue, waiting for Gibbs to come. I realized, to my satisfaction, that I was still eerily calm and that my façade had not yet faded.

My eyes locked straight ahead, playing out the scene over and over again. I was so immersed in the attack scene that I didn't hear the car door open until it slammed shut, rocking the van, jolting me to the present.

I looked up, feeling his cool blue eyes on my skin before I saw them in the rear view mirror.

He started the car without a word and began to take slippery turns to get us back to our hotel. The car was deathly silent, each of us quiet. His eyes never left mine, and I never flinched at his gaze. I calmly looked back even when my insides began to squirm and wither away.

Surprisingly, we never went off course and arrived at the hotel in a few short minutes. I got out of the car and pushed through the doors, and was enveloped with sudden warmth of the heaters.

I felt the receptionist look at me incredulously, and I could just imagine what I looked like. I probably had blood on me from the men I had killed and I was probably sopping wet. I punched in the call button for the elevator and waited impatiently.

I heard them come up behind me and stiffened. I tapped my foot, willing the doors to open, and felt his breath on the back of my neck. Such a simple gesture, and yet it sent shock waves across my body. I searched desperately for the walls I had a minute ago and found a brick that laid untouched by those eyes of his, and began to build on that.

I willed my body to stay still, and when the elevator doors opened, I walked in with ease, my face wiped of any emotion. They got in behind me, Melinda shooting daggers at me, and Gibbs doing the same thing.

I let the gaze slip off of me and closed the doors, hitting our floor number.

"What. The. Hell. Were. You. Thinking."

I turned towards his voice, and almost jumped at the sight. His voice was unrecognizable, his eyes like ice. I felt the words creep under my skin and wrench my heart out of my chest.

"I got the information, Gibbs, that is why we were sent on this operation, to get the information and protect the ship," I told him smoothly.

"Ziva that's not my point!" He yelled, clearly frustrated, "You could've died there, we could've been too late and found your body there!"

I looked at him, and began to play the scene again. I pictured myself being too slow to dodge the bullet the man had fired at me, and the bullet cutting deep into my head, leaving a gaping red bloody hole in its place. I pictured myself not being able to dodge a few punches, and I could practically feel the man's hands on my throat, clenching it and cutting off my oxygen. I gasped for breath, my throat and nose burning, my eyes tearing. I clawed at the hands, and was suddenly shaken back when I heard his voice.

"Ziva!" He yelled, finally breaking through my imagination.

I opened my eyes to see myself in the cramped elevator, the emergency stop button on. I felt sweat on my forehead and hastily wiped it away. I felt the tears in my eyes but blinked them away.

"Yes Gibbs?"

He stared at me with concern, reaching out to cup my cheek. I let his warm hand rest there and felt increasingly better with his hand resting on my skin. I pushed down my feelings for him, burying them so deep that they wouldn't dare resurface, and with all my strength, I pulled away from him.

I reached out and hit the button again, making the doors open and walked out, going to our room number and pushed open the handle. I headed straight for the bathroom and closed the door, locking it behind me.

Gibbs POV

"You could've did their, we could've been too late and found your body there!" I yelled at her, my frustration flowing like rapids.

She opened her mouth to speak, but then her eyes closed. I stopped, my anger and frustration suddenly morphing into concern and love. I could practically see the pain she was in, emotional and mental, playing through her head. I hit the emergency stop button and walked towards her cautiously. I saw beads of sweat on her face and her eyes darting back and forth beneath closed lids.

Suddenly, she began gasping for breath and I was instantly pushed over the edge with her.

"Ziva!" I yelled, desperate to wake her up from the nightmare I had just put her through.

Her eyes opened with a snap, her breathing rapid and erotic. I saw tears in her beautiful brown eyes and wanted to just kiss her senseless right then and there.

"Yes Gibbs?" She asked, her voice strangely calm, contradicting greatly with her features.

My hand wavered, reaching up and cupping her cheek in the palm of my hand. I loved the feel of her soft skin against mine, my thumb tracing invisible circles alone her cheeks. To my surprise, she let my hand rest there for a few short blissful seconds before pulling away.

Her hand reached out and slammed on the stop button again to make it start, and the door automatically opened. She walked swiftly out, holding her body up with pride and honor.

I walked out dazed behind her, the heavy weight in my left pocket making my heart hurt. I involuntarily felt the cool medal of the PDA, the information she had risked her life for, through the jacket, and wanted to throw it out the window.

She could've died if she had been a few sec0onds slower.

I walked in behind her, and was about to reach for her when she slammed the bathroom door in my face. I sighed, my hand on the door, willing her to open it with silent words.

I felt a hand on my right shoulder and turned to face a woman that I had thought to be dead. She looked so much like Jenny that it was seriously uncanny; her strawberry blonde hair was perfect, flowing in waves, up to her shoulders. Her green-brown eyes twinkling.

But, I thought, no matter her complexion, she could not compare to the woman behind that closed door that had stolen my heart from the first day we met.

"Jethro, give me the PDA so I can get the information, you should go and rest in the other room," she told me, her voice soft.

I reached into my pocket and handed her the PDA, and walked away from her. I needed to make a few calls, figure out who the hell told her where to go.

I pulled out my phone in the next room, closing the door.

I dialed Tony's number and waited.

"Special Agent DiNozzo," he answered, his voice slightly worried.

"DiNozzo, did you give Ziva the information to where the terrorists were?" I barked, not bothering to hide my frustration and anger.

"No boss, I heard it when I was outside Vance's office. Ziva called and asked him for it, and he just gave it to her. God, is she OK?"

I sighed, "Dammit! Yeah she's fine, hard as a rock. Keep everyone there safe, DiNozzo, tell Abby that I'll get her something from Europe if she doesn't waste herself on Caf-Pows."

I clipped the phone shut and threw it on the bed, listening to the sound of the shower. My mind drifted back to the day we had made love in a different hotel room, in a different universe, maybe. We had both finally succumbed to our need for each other, and admitted our love; so where was that love now?

I wonder if she still felt it, deep inside. Her walls were built up strong, I realized, she was pushing me out just like she had pushed me out the first day we met.

I pulled out the PDA and looked it over, glaring at the smooth surface. I turned it on, scrolling through the countless data until I saw a little box that said "hit days" I touched the box, and opened lists upon lists of files and dates. I gasped, they had a bomb planted in this hotel, and it would be going off in a few short hours.

Ziva POV

I turned the shower off and grabbed a towel, drying myself and folding the towel around my wet body. I looked myself in the mirror, discovering that the cuts to my head and lower neck had been healing nicely and I only had a few bruises that were easily covered up. I opened the door, walking out and up to my suitcase, pulling out a t-shirt and sweat pants. I closed the bedroom door behind me and let the towel slip from my shoulders.

I heard a gasp behind me and turned quickly to see _him _standing in front of the bed, just inches from me. His eyes were slightly wide and his face was flushed a light pink. I tried to force down the urge to smile and laugh, but couldn't. I gave him a small smile, flipping my hair back.

"It is not polite to gawk, Jethro," I told him, a slight smile to my voice.

I felt my body flush pink from embarrassment and hastily grabbed a bra, strapping it on a pulling on panties. I turned to face him again, fully aware that he hadn't moved an inch. My eyes swept along his body, admiring the tight black shirt that emphasized his already impressive chest and the dark washed jeans that seemed to hang a little too tight. Finally, my eyes rested on what he was holding; the PDA.

"Have you found something?" I asked, immediately striding over to him, without thinking, I leaned over his shoulder, still only half dressed.

He cleared his throat, trying to keep himself in control and nodded, a serious mask placed over his once lust filled face.

"They have a bomb in the hotel, it has pretty high radiation so we should be able to scope it out before it blows," his blue eyes never left the PDA, even when he was directing his words towards me.

I nodded, pulling on the t-shirt and throwing the sweat pants down, picking up a pair of jeans.

"Alright, when do we start?" I asked, looking around for the radiation detectors.

He turned and rummaged in his bag, pulling out three bright yellow radiation detectors, tossing one to me, and sat on the bed, still scrolling through the PDA, his eyes far away.

I cautiously sat down beside him, clinging onto my walls for dear life. I couldn't let my control slip; not again.

I looked over his shoulder, and saw several documents being opened.

"Alright, looks like they have one here and they somehow managed to plant one in the ship; probably when they ambushed the crew. So, how about we take care of this one first and then we'll go to the ship?" He asked, finally meeting my eyes.

I thought for a moment, "No, it would be best if we split up, you can take Melinda and both of you can go and disarm the bomb in the ship; I'll stay here and take care of the hotel."

I knew he would deny it and say that we should just stick together, but I knew his sense of duty came first with him, so he would do what was best. His blue eyes caught mine and held them, a thousand words being exchanged between us. He was afraid, I thought incredulously, afraid for my life, not his. I clenched my jaw to hold back my tears because the truth was; I was afraid for his life too. I just couldn't say it.

"Alright," he began, his voice soft, "We should get going then, Ziver. We'll see you in a few hours."

I nodded slowly, getting up off of the bed and grabbing a pair of pliers off the table and sticking them in my pocket. I grabbed the walkie-talkie off of the bedside table and clipped it at my waist along with my badge.

"Oh, and Ziver," he added, making me turn around. I was immediately immersed in those warm blue eyes of his, "We _will _see you again. You can count on it."

I nodded, "Yes, and I will see you too Gibbs. Stay safe."

He nodded, steeping out of the room. I heard him exchange a few words with Melinda and then the door slammed shut. I felt tears in my eyes and wanted to kick myself for it.

This might just be the last time I would see him alive, and I just couldn't seem to come to terms with it. I refused to think that he had just walked out of my life for good, and pulled on my gun, sliding it into it's holster. I steeled myself for the deed that was calling me ahead, and the tears were gone. My walls were back up, and I was once again emotionless.

**Ohh, wonder who's going to die? Any thoughts? **


	10. Chapter 10

**I'll give you a hint about who's going to die…it's going to make a certain person very VERY upset…maybe to the point of suicide? Hm…we'll see; on with the chapter!**

Gibbs POV

I walked out of the hotel, my heart racing and pounding against my chest. I felt the heavy weight of the SIG in my holster and constantly checked the clips I had in my other pocket, making sure that they were there. I had to occupy my hands or else my mind would drift to a certain Israeli and I would turn right back around and run to her to make sure she was ok.

I pulled out the van's keys and opened up the door, climbing into the driver's seat. I slammed the door shut, my hands resting in my lap, waiting for Melinda.

I sighed, the silence was unnerving; it only made my heart hurt more. I rubbed my hand over my eyes, resting my arm on the dashboard, my minds spinning. What if she couldn't disarm the bomb fast enough and she died? Or what if she died in the process? God, I couldn't bear the thought.

I pulled my hand away from my eyes and lifted my face, staring straight ahead. The once romantic city was filled with death, I thought, we used to have so many good memories here, Jen and I. I guess when she died, the city in a way died too.

I heard the car door open and then the familiar smell of peach perfume filled the car, jolting me away from the past. I started the car and began navigating through the quiet city. I took sharp turns, never missing a single one until we arrived in front of the dock.

I quickly got out of the car, we only had half an hour left now. I didn't hesitate to climb on board and go down into the cabins. The narrow corridors were filled with strong able bodied young men calling out orders and reports.

I headed straight into the captains room, not bothering to knock, I went right in.

"Captain, we have a problem," I began.

He looked up, his face crestfallen and set down his book, striding over to us.

"What's going on?" He asked, his eyes stealing over.

"They got a bomb on the ship; we need the ship evacuated _now _so we can find the bomb and stop it from detonating," I told him, my voice hard. I was painfully aware of the seconds that we were wasting by talking to him and felt my temper rising.

He looked at me for a second, "Are you absolutely sure about this? We're extremely vulnerable if we're _all _out on the dock."

I nodded, "Yes sir, I understand, but if you don't leave, you're all going to die and it's going to make our jobs harder."

He was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. After what felt like hours but was only a few minutes, he went back to his desk, pressing the speaker button.

"All crew must evacuate onto the dock, drop everything you're doing and get out. This is not a drill," he added.

I immediately heard movement from behind the door and heard men shouting over each other, and could almost picture them rushing for the exits.

I nodded, "Go with them, captain, let us do our jobs."

He hesitated again but then left his room. I waited a few more seconds and wiped out the radiation detectors. I walked around the room, covering every surface of it. I sighed, this wasn't where it was.

"Go down to the heart of the ship; they must've put it there," I mumbled, storming out the door and taking three steps at a time to get down. I could almost hear the clock ticking inside my head and didn't bother to check if Melinda was behind me.

I went down the final steps and was in the bottom of the ship where the machines were. I looked around, the detector in front of me. Suddenly, I heard movement to my left and looked behind me, pointing towards the other half of the massive room. Melinda nodded and disappeared into the darkness.

I turned on my flashlight and shone it through the room, the bright beam uncovering ever aspect of the barely visited room. I heard a crackle and looked down to see that we were getting closer to the bomb.

I walked forward again, and felt an arm grab me and pull me into the darkness, ripping my flashlight away. My captors arms wrapped around my throat, suffocating me. I gasped for breath, tears welling up in my eyes.

I brought my elbow back and elbowed him in the stomach, making his grip loosen. I pulled away, gun in hand. I didn't see his fist until it was right up against my chest, throwing me off balance. I felt around and grabbed the flashlight, shinning it at his face.

"Ah!" He cried as the beam hit him, shielding his eyes. I punched him twice in the face, slamming his head into the medal wall, knocking him unconscious.

I pulled out the ticking alarm and saw that we only had three minutes left. I cursed and looked around for the radiation detector to find it crackling like crazy near a crate. I quickly grabbed a crowbar and jammed the lid open and saw the bomb set in the middle, several wires erupting from the little square surface.

"2 minutes 50 seconds," I mumbled, trying to desperately remember which wire to cut. I got out the pliers and went for the red one. My hand shook ever so slightly as the medal cut the small piece of medal.

I expected the timer to stop, but instead it went to one minute and twenty seconds. I cursed again and pulled out the PDA, scrolling through the bomb's construction blue prints. I tried to decipher the Arabic and cursed again; I should've brought Ziva, I thought.

I felt cold sweat break out on the back of my neck as the clock went down to 40 seconds. I looked around in the PDA, hoping against hope that there was an English version. I felt the seconds tick away and felt my life slipping away as well. There was so much I hadn't said yet that just had to be said. I decided to go with my gut and cut the black wire.

To my relief, the bomb stopped ticking. I breathed out a sigh of relief, the timer stopped with twenty seconds to spare. I looked around, calling out Melinda's name.

"Yes, Jethro?" She answered, coming up behind me, her hair slightly tousled.

"I need you to throw this bomb into the water, don't shake the box too much or else it might start up again," I instructed, feeling as if the weight of the world was finally lifted from my shoulders.

She nodded, coming up behind me and taking the box, holding it out in front of her, her arms wavering slightly.

"Hey! Hold it steady, stop shaking!" I chastised, sighing. This woman had the nerve to call Ziva weak when she couldn't handle a little bomb that hadn't even gone off yet.

Ziva! I thought suddenly, climbing up the stairs and out onto the deck. I pulled out the walkie-talkie.

"Ziva? How you doing up there?" I asked, my voice soft.

I waited for her response, holding my breath. I felt the wind pull at my coat and wipe away the sweat on my back.

"Ziva!" I called again, hoping against hope that she would answer.

I heard a crackle and then her voice, broken, "Gibbs . . . did you stop the bomb?" She asked, her voice so soft and broken it made my heart stop all together.

"Ziva, what the hell's wrong over there?" I yelled, concern lacing the anger. Why wouldn't she just tell me what the hell was wrong?

"Nothing is wrong . . . I am working on the bomb," she whispered, her voice was calm, the vulnerability vanishing all together.

"Do you need help?" I asked, my voice lowering slightly.

I heard a pause, "No, I don't need any-

Her voice was cut off and I felt my eyes open wide, my fingers gripping the walkie-talkie hardening, gripping it so tight that the whites of my knuckles were visible.

I heard an explosion that rocked my world, turning my mind off and making my heart stop. I felt my world crumple into a heap as I heard that explosion, unable to move for a few seconds, my eyes wide and the hand clenched around the walkie-talkie going limp, dropping it onto the medal deck, clattering away into a corner.

I bolted off of the deck, not bothering to use the stairs, just jumping onto the dock. I ran past a bewildered Melinda and crew, my mind not functioning. My legs pumped, adrenaline and pain making me push myself faster and faster until I reached her. I felt tears prick my eyes and tried holding them back, but they managed to slide down my cheeks. I felt my whole chest ache with pain and hurt and a vicious hope that could die in a few short seconds when I saw her body, crumpled against the wall of the hotel.

I ran through the silent streets, my footsteps echoing along the apartments and alleys. The buildings blurred with my tears, the wind hitting my face with full force like a punch to the gut. I couldn't contain myself, couldn't think right until I saw her.

As I began nearing the hotel, I slowed down, my heart wrenching, wondering the scene that I would find. I tried to put on my calm mask but it was already in shambles ever since I heard the explosion. I slowed from a sprint to a walk, all the energy draining out of my body.

I walked up to where the hotel should be to see it in a pile of rubble. I felt pain grip my chest as I walked up to it, yelling Ziva's name over and over again, hoping against hope that she would pop up from the rubble and be alright; but I knew I was just lying to myself. If I did find her then she would be burnt to a crisp below the pile.

I would never see her beautiful face crack into a smile that always seemed to make my day; hell, I would never see her again period because the blast from the bomb would've killed her. Never the less, I got down on my hands and knees, turning over the rocks, cutting my hands in the process, searching for her body, throwing rocks this way and that.

Suddenly, I saw something shine in the pile and brushed away the dust to reveal a NCIS badge that looked somewhat burnt. I picked it up, my eyes watering and my walls falling to the floor.

"Ziva," I cried, my face crumpling with pain and loss. I had lost almost everyone I had ever loved in my life, how could I lose her too? I wondered, my hand clutching the badge to my chest.

Ziva POV

I walked down the stairs, the radiation detector in my hand, my eyes scanning the strangely empty basement. _Maybe the manager actually listened and had them all evacuated? _I wondered casually.

Suddenly, the lights flickered, and I immediately stopped, my muscles tensing, ready to spring. After a last crackle, the lights went off. I instantly went on high alert, taking out the flashlight and shinning it around the concrete floors. I felt a hand grab at my waist and instinctively tugged at it, easily finding the pressure point and flipping the man over.

I felt at my side, and realized that my NCIS badge was gone and curse. I heard him groan, the flashlight's beam hitting him straight in the face. He shielded his eyes from it, making it impossible to see his face.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned just in time to see a fist shooting at my chest. I grabbed the hand, twisting it until I heard a bone snap and kicked the guy in the ribs. I ducked out of his way as he fell and hit his head on the concrete floor, knocking him unconscious.

I picked up the fallen radiation detector and continued on cautiously. I looked at the watch, I only had a minute or so left; I began to search harder, willing the machine to give me a sign.

Suddenly, it began crackling, the force making the whole box vibrate wildly. I took a few steps back to see nothing but the concrete floor. I bent down, examining the concrete, cautiously running a hand along the surface, trying to find the edges of a door.

After what felt like hours, I found the small opening and pried it open to reveal a ticking bomb sitting inside it. I cautiously lowered myself in, expertly hooking my feet against the medal works of a machine to keep me from falling. I got out the pliers, half my body dangling in the dark hole, watching the neon red numbers tick away. I studied the bomb, trying to absorb as much detail as possible, and found the switch I was looking for that would buy me some more time.

I cut the green and blue wires at the same time, and the timer slowed down, giving me a 5 minute lead. I tried to find the off switch in the jumble of wire, but knew that it was hopeless. I quickly pulled myself back up using my leg muscles, and ran from the bomb, kicking myself the whole way. I was running away from something that if I had a few more minutes to study, I could probably fix.

I first ran into our room, grabbing the silver case and extra guns and knives, hastily shoving them into my backpack. I thanks God that Gibbs and Melinda had already taken our suitcases in case we didn't make it back. I looked at the timer I had set along with the bomb and saw that I had less than three minutes.

I ran out of the room, my shirt now coated with sweat and dust. I didn't bother to take the elevator, and looked at the window at the side. We were only two stories up, if I was careful enough I could climb down.

Without hesitation, I pulled open the window, expertly throwing my body over the side, my fingers gripping the edge. I felt around for a foot hold and found the other window directly below me and cautiously lowered myself onto the small, precarious ledge. I stayed still for a moment to regain my balance and cautiously bent down, hanging onto the ledge and let my feet slide onto the next window.

Suddenly, I heard a furious beeping and looked to see that I now had less than two minutes. I looked down, and judged that it wouldn't be bad if I just jumped. I braced myself, my muscles tensing, and released my fingers from the ledge.

I felt the cool rush past me, gravity pulling me down. I landed on my feet, wincing slightly at the impact. I looked down at the timer again, the adrenalin preventing me from keeping still. I had all of one minute now.

I sprinted away from the hotel, the backpack strapped to my back. Suddenly, I remembered that I had left the walkie-talkie in the basement and cursed myself twice over. I couldn't go back for it now, the hotel would blow up in-

_BAM! _I felt the searing heat and the force of the ruble push me to the ground, my ears rang from the explosion, making my head hurt.

Slowly, I got to my feet, the world spinning for a second and then focusing into place.

I started to head towards the ship when I felt a gun being pressed to the back of my neck.


	11. Chapter 11

Ziva POV

I felt the gun dig into the back of my head and tensed, my muscles clenching tight.

"Turn around," a female voice hissed into my ear. I felt my breath catch in my throat; I knew that voice, I had been taking care of her ever since she was born.

I shook my head, making the thoughts shrink away. It wasn't possible, I thought silently, she couldn't be alive; I had seen her body crumpled in the suicide bombing, saw the blood poor from her wounds and her pale face bright with sweat.

"I said _turn around_!" She yelled, forcing me to turn to face her. There was desperation in her voice, and a harsh edge to it that was never there before.

Suddenly, I was staring into a pair of brown eyes, completely identical to mine, with short brown hair framing her heart shaped face. My eyes searched hers, looking for some sort of recognition that was suppose to go off a few seconds ago. To my absolute horror, her eyes were cold and calculating, her face expressionless.

"Tali, it is me, Zivaleh," I whispered, my voice soft and gentle, hoping to find the little girl that had once idolized me.

Her gun hand clenched again, her finger poised on the trigger, the gun point resting on the center of my forehead.

"Yes, I know, but we do not care who you are," she hissed again, her eyes narrowed. She thrust a walkie-talkie into my hand and I looked at it, curious.

"What is this for?" I asked her, hiding my emotions again.

"Your walkie-talkie, a man has been calling for you, I answered for you. I do a very convincing impression of my older sister, so I am told," she told me, the point pressing harder against my forehead.

I looked at her, my eyes narrowing, "What has happened to you, Tali, you would rather kill your own sister who has killed the men that supposedly 'killed' you, rather than just let her go?"

Her eyes, if possible, became colder, "If you had fought against Eli David than you would have realized that I was very much alive, but you were too busy running away from the whole scene."

I gaped at her, she couldn't be serious! A piece of me had died when I saw her fall, when I saw the blood on the already red earth I wanted to kill myself right then and there.

"Tali! Our father forcibly _dragged _me away from you! I fought against him but he did not pay any attention to my protests!"

She laughed, "Well, it is too late to discuss the past. Now, I will not make the same mistake as you; I will make sure that you die."

She cocked the gun and my eyes opened wide. I swiftly dodged out of the way, the bullet sliding so close against me that I felt a blast of wind whip past me. I blocked out her face, quickly grabbing her arm and flipping her over onto her back. She grabbed me and pulled me down, the gun flying from her hand and sliding off into the shadows.

"Tali do not make me do this," I hissed, desperation lightly edging my tone.

She tried to pry herself from underneath me but I wouldn't have it; I punched her twice in the face, wincing each time my fist came into contact with her flesh. I couldn't help but let my mind drift off to when we were children, how I would have protected her at all costs, taking her beatings, and yet, the irony was that I was the one dealing them out now.

Suddenly, I stopped and my body went limp, my mind finally catching up with my body, realizing that I was punching my little sister, my sweet Tali, my sweet girl. I looked into her eyes, shaking my head once, and got off of her.

"I cannot hurt you, Tali, I love you too much," I sighed, tears in my eyes.

She laughed, getting up as well and walking up to me, her face only a few centimeters away from mine. Her hand fly up so fast that I didn't see it, and she slapped me across the face with so much force that my neck cracked from the impact.

"You have always tried to protect me, Ziva, but I never needed your protection. I have grown stronger where as you have grown weak. I should have eliminated you whilst you did not expect it. You see, I wanted our father to favor me more, but he would never do that as long as you were around. I am here to finish the job," she paused to take a breath, "but after tonight, no one will even be able to find your body, let alone give you a proper burial."

Her words were like knives cutting into my skin, each one cutting deeper then the last. When she finished her little speech, I felt my anger rising and I pulled out the gun I had in my jacket pocket and pointed it straight into her chest.

"I am sorry I ever mourned for you, Tali, I am sorry our father never saw how extraordinary you are, and I am most sorry for how Hamas has changed you and morphed you into someone that you were clearly not while we were growing up," I whispered, pulling the trigger twice, my eyes on her face the whole time.

I saw the life drain out of her face, her tan complexion paling into a pasty white, and her eyes, oh how I will never forget the way they looked at me, filled with such hatred, when at a time, those brown chocolate orbs were filled with adoration for myself and our brother.

Her body dropped into the snow, the blood from the wound staining my top and the pure white snow beneath her. I crumpled down beside her, pulling her dead body into my arms, sobs racking through my body.

To find out that your baby sister was killed in a suicide bombing, and then finding out she is alive and then in turn, having to kill her, was tearing me apart. I felt my body shake and shudder with sobs as I held her lifeless body, letting her blood stain my clothes.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see a man, his silhouette covered by a black shroud of the night. The only thing that I could make out were his blue eyes, bright with tears that were running freely down his cheeks.

He suddenly stopped, his face crumpling with pain again, "Oh god dammit! Don't do this to me," he hissed, ramming his fist into the nearest wall and creating a whole the size of a baseball.

I looked at him, surprised at his sudden burst of anger. I thought he would be relieved to see me, if anything.

"Gibbs, what is wrong?" I asked, my voice husky and cracked from crying.

He turned to look at me, shaking his head, "Stop it, OK? You've had your fun. I found your badge; you're dead, so tell your damned bastards to stop terrorizing me already!"

I stopped breathing for a second, he thought I was dead? I shook my head slowly, letting Tali's body fall into the snow and slowly walked over to him, dropping my gun and slowly pulling out the knife I had hidden in my shirt, dropping it into the snow as well.

"Gibbs, it is me, Ziva, I am not dead," I whispered. It took all I had to not give into my shaking legs and crumpling back into the snow.

I saw the lines of pain and grief etched into his face, the same emotions I had only seen once in my life; when Kate Todd had died and I was there to take her place. I reached out to him, my hand wavering and shaking.

He looked at me, and took a few steps closer, until we were simply a few inches apart. His blue eyes searched mine and I felt my heart lurch. How I longed for him to wrap his arms around me and tell me that I was safe now, that we were both safe, and that everything would be ok.

My hand was still in the air, quivering, hoping against all odds that he would trust me and take it. I pleaded him with my eyes, conveying to him every emotion that I could no longer base into words. He nodded once, and grasped my hand in his, pulling me against him.

He let me cry, let my tears stain his already worn shirt and soak through. I cried for many reasons, one of them being that I had to kill my sister in order to save my life and the other being that I could never truly have custody over the man that now held me in his arms. We would most likely never come into contact like this ever again, and I had to deal with that.

"Ziva, I thought you were dead," he whispered, his voice husky. I felt his lips move against my hair and felt him press a kiss to my temple.

In turn, I felt something wet on my cheek and looked up to see a single tear come out of his clear blue eyes. I shook my head, nothing can take me away from you, I wanted to tell him, but was unable to open my mouth.

I snuggled deeper into his chest, letting his warmth soak into my skin, memorizing his scent and the feel of his arms around mine.

I looked up into his face once again, finally finding my voice, I told him in a deathly quiet tone, "Tali, she was alive. I thought she died in the suicide bombing, but it was not so."

I paused for a second and continued on, "I had to kill her, Gibbs, I had to _kill _my little sister," my voice cracked and what I had just done seemed to hit me with a newly formed wave of pain.

"Shh, it's going to be alright, Ziver," he whispered into my ear, tugging me closer against him.

Just having his presence in the dark alley seemed to make me feel that much better. Finally, after what felt like only a few short minutes but was really an hour, I pulled away from him and surveyed the scene around me.

"We should go back to Melinda; she's talking to the captain. We leave for Amsterdam in the morning. We should also contact your father; tell him what the hell his daughter's been up to, and I'm sure Vance will want to hear about some of the info, but you don't have to worry about that right now, just follow me and stay close," he told me, taking my hang and guiding me out of the alley.

I nodded my mind like a blank canvas. I couldn't think clearly and the only emotions I felt were grief and remorse. I shifted the weight of the backpack onto both shoulders and followed him out, leaving my sister's body behind.

Gibbs POV

I took her hand in mine, and led her out of her own personal hell, my eyes never leaving her face. I was so relieved that she was alive, even though she was extremely broken. I rubbed circles into the back of her hand with my thumb, guiding her down the street and back to the Abraham.

I saw Melinda talking animatedly with the captain and decided to drop her hand, instead I shrugged off my jacket despite the weather and draped it over her shoulders. She was shivering and the shock of everything had already set in.

She turned at the sound of my footsteps and practically threw herself at me, clinging onto me with all her strength.

"Oh my god I was so worried! I thought you were both dead!" She exclaimed.

I cautiously patted her on the back and gently detached her arms from around my neck. I looked to my right to see that Ziva was staring off into the distance, focusing on nothing in particular.

"Is she alright?" Melinda asked quietly, her voice soft with worry.

I nodded, "She will be. Just give her time and she'll be fine."

At least that's what I hoped. I turned to the captain, trying to ignore the ever present feeling of wanting to comfort her and began asking about our next stop.

"So, Amsterdam, what are the details on that stop?" I asked him, my eyes searching his for a specific answer.

He paused for a moment, as if deep in thought and said, "Well, Amsterdam has activity, I'll tell you that, but we don't have much information on it. You might want to check with your director about your mission there."

I nodded, walking away from him, whispering into Ziva's ear, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna call up Vance."

I waited for her response and finally she gave me a slight nod. I sighed quietly and turned away from her, my phone in hand. I dialed the directors number and waited, tapping my foot impatiently.

"Vance," he answered.

"Alright, now you tell me why the _hell _didn't we know that Tali David was still alive?" I hissed into the phone, my anger boiling onto the surface.

There was a short pause, "We didn't know what was going to happen in Paris, Gibbs, we were all in the dark! We only got the footage Melinda sent us and it really wasn't much; so if you would so kindly as to place cameras in your rooms in Amsterdam and wear an earwig than next time I'll be able to help you."

"Wait, what exactly did Melinda send you?" I asked quietly, turning ever so slightly to see Melinda talking to the captain again and taking notes.

"She sent us a few snippets of what happened. She didn't tell us you were under attack almost every damn day and she most certainly never told us how many bodies you guys left! Do you know how many times I've had to go to MTAC this past week?" He asked, his voice sounding clearly above frustrated.

"No, Leon, I don't because I'm too damn worried about keeping both myself and my agents safe! Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me what the hell we're looking for in Amsterdam, and I won't shove that toothpick up your ass," I hissed into the phone.

"What you're looking for you won't find because he's going to find you. He's going to ask you to make a deal. You guys are completely different people in Amsterdam, that's why you need to wear the damn ear wigs so DiNozzo can communicate with you."

"Alright, so what the hell are we?" I asked, turning back again to check on Ziva. To my disappointment she hadn't even moved an inch from where she was standing. She was still staring off into the distance, the wind gently tussling her hair.

"Assassins. Hotel Inner is where they'll contact you."

To my frustration, the line went dead.  
"Well dammit!" I mumbled, shoving my phone into my pocket.

I walked back to where Ziva and Melinda were and stood in front of them, my expression showing my frustration.

"When the hell does our flight leave?" I asked Melinda, turning to face her.

She looked at her watch, "It should be leaving at 10:00 am. We can get some sleep on the boat, the captain said he would be delighted to have us.

I nodded, nudging Ziva with my hand, cracking her out of her daze. She blinked once, and then again, her eyes focusing onto mine.

"We're sleepin' on the boat tonight, Ziver, come on, before you catch a cold," I whispered and she nodded, obediently following me up the steps and bellow the deck.

We were lead to a small cabin with two bunk beds stacked next to each other. I quietly walked in, my hands gently sliding the backpack from her shoulders.

"Get some rest, Ziver, you need it," I whispered into her ear, not daring to raise my voice with her; not now.

She slowly walked up to the bottom bunk and let her body collapse onto the mattress, her hands folded over her abdomen. She turned to face me as I got in next to her on the other bed, her brown eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Thank you, Gibbs," she whispered, her voice soft.

"For what?" I asked, not understanding what she meant.

"For being there for me when I needed you," she clarified. I watched as her eyes closed and listened to her breathing go from strained to deep and even.

That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my face and my love by my side.


	12. Chapter 12

**Haha Review! I'm updating today because I have midterms soon and I am seriously stressing haha. **

Ziva POV

I felt my eyes close after I told him why I thanked him and began to fall into a deep sleep. Suddenly, I began to see _her _face again in the alley, the gun pointed against my head, her eyes, cold and calculating.

"Tali," I whispered, unable to move a single muscle in my body.

She gave me a cruel smile and turned the gun away from me and pointed it towards someone behind me. I turned just in time to see Leroy Jethro Gibbs jogging towards us, his mouth wide open.

My eyes went wide and I tried to run to him, trying in vain to stop him from coming any closer but to my frustration, my body wouldn't move. I looked back at Tali, begging her with my eyes to spare him, and to kill me instead. She gave me that same cruel smile and pulled the trigger twice.

I turned again just in time to see his body fall onto the snow, blood pooling from his wounds. I ran to him, everything moving in slow motion. My legs wouldn't move fast enough and I felt as if I were moving through syrup.

I leant over his now cold body and began to cry, tears staining the two clean holes pierced right through his heart. I looked up and saw the gun being pointed at my forehead once again. My eyes focused on her trigger finger and saw the trigger being pulled twice, my eyes locked on the bullets and watched as they went into my head, drilling themselves into my brain.

Suddenly, my eyes burst wide open and I felt the room spin before me. I jolted into a sitting position, the sheets tangled around my small frame, tears and sweat soaking through my tank top. I looked around and saw the blank gray walls of the ship but it didn't do anything to calm my breathing.

I gasped for breath, my hand over my mouth, trying to cover up my sobs.

"Ziver?" I heard a murmur beside me and didn't move from my position.

I heard the springs groan as the man beside me sat up and rubbed his eyes of sleep.

I felt him wrap his arms around me and pull me close to him just as he had last night, his arms tight around me. I leaned back into his bare chest and felt the true devastation of last night hit me like a tidal wave.

"Hey, it's ok, you're not there anymore, Ziva, it's OK," he convinced me, his voice soft against my ear.

I wanted to believe him, oh God, all I wanted to do was stay in his arms and let him convince me that everything was alright and that things will be alright later on.

"I thought you were dead, she shot you first, then me," I conveyed, my voice muffled against his chest.

He laughed, making his chest shake, "I'm not dead, Ziver, and neither are you. We're both safe and we're both alright; and I'll be damned if I let that change in anyway."

I felt myself relax into him and my breathing became even again, my tears began to slow and my heart began to slow down until it was just a slow and steady beating against my chest.

"Let's go back to sleep, alright? We'll talk in the morning," he told me, slowly bringing my body down with his across our joined beds.

I nodded, brushing my hair out of my face. I closed my eyes and willed sleep to come to me, and when it didn't, I opened my eyes once more.

"Gibbs, are you still awake?" I whispered hesitantly.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep," he answered back, his tone soft.

"And why is that?" I asked, turning to face him to find his face just inches from mine, our proximity making my heart speed up.

His blue eyes were serious and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"What if you were just a few seconds slower? What if the bomb did get to you before your sister did and you died in there? What if your sister had killed you right then and there?" He suddenly asked, showing his vulnerability.

His blue eyes locked against mine, making me hold his gaze steady. I couldn't turn away, couldn't even jerk my head so that I wouldn't have to take the full force of his stare.

"Those are simply 'what if's.' As you have said, we are both alive and safe. I thought the same thing about you just now, but you reassured me, so let me reassure you," I whispered, my voice husky.

He nodded, and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him once more. I felt his heart beat through his bare chest as he tucked the blankets around us.

Gibbs POV

I felt her heart beating through her tank top and smiled; she was alive and she would stay that way, I promised myself and her. I looked down at the beautiful woman I had in my arms and kissed the top of her head, her brown hair soft against my lips.

She couldn't have died; she was too strong, to invincible and too fast; but at times that's all that people thought she was; a mindless assassin. She was so much more than that, she was an extraordinary woman, one of a kind. She had a heart as big as anyone's, even more so at times.

"I love you," I wanted to whisper in her ear and kiss her senseless, but I couldn't risk it. Instead, I kept quiet and let her fall asleep, spooning her from behind.

I felt my eyes close and let the warmth of her body comfort me and soon, I began to doze off, a smile once again on my face.

After what seemed like only a few short minutes, my alarm went off from under my pillow. I groaned, and opened my eyes, surveying our room to find that nothing had changed and that all was as it had been last night.

I looked down to see Ziva still placed carefully beside me, my arms wrapped around her torso, her hair flowing out to the sides of the pillow. I carefully retracted one of my arms and pulled the ringing phone from beneath the pillow and shut it off, checking the times.

"0700," I mumbled, and began to wake up a little more.

I felt her stir beside me and she was out of my arms in an instant, leaving me with an empty feeling.

"Our plane is leaving in three hours, we should grab what items we have and get ready," she mumbled, trying to fix her hair so that it was out of her face.

I nodded, "Yeah, bathroom's yours for about twenty minutes," I told her casually, expertly hiding my disappointment.

She nodded, picking up her bag and going into the small bathroom beside our beds. I walked across the small room and picked up a red button down shirt, a black blazer, white tie, and a pair of black trousers.

I sat back down on the bed, looking to see if I had forgotten anything and found something shimmering on the bedside table.

Curiosity pulling at me, I picked up the bent up necklace and held it up to what little light we had in our room and looked at the strange engravings. I suspected that the language was in Hebrew or Arabic and gently set it down on the table, expecting that Ziva would tell me about it if she chose to.

The door opened after ten minutes and she walked out, a towel around her shoulders. I looked her body up and down, my eyes involuntarily traveling down every curve of her lusciously soft skin that was being exposed by the almost blood red silk top with the v-neck and the small black skirt just touching below her thighs.

She caught me looking at her, making me blush like a teenager again. To my astonishment, she began laughing.

"If you are going to wear that, then we match," she smiled, striding over to me.

I looked down at my set of clothes and laughed as well, she was right. My button down shirt was the same shade as her top and my slacks were the same color as her skirt.

I let it slide and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I found to my surprise, a surprisingly large shower and sink. I threw my clothes over the rack and turned on the shower, a small smile on my face.

Ziva POV

I pulled out a small mirror from my suitcase and checked my hair, making sure that everything was in place and pulled the earwig from the hidden compartment of my bag, sticking it carefully in my ear.

"Tony, can you hear me?" I whispered quietly, looking around the cabin to see that Melinda was already gone.

I heard a shuffle of steps and then something heavy falling and smiled to myself.

"What? Oh, yeah, Ziva I can hear you. Everything ok with the boss? You're not hurt, are you?" He askI noed, his voice cautious and much too loud.

"No, Tony I am fine, _we _are fine. Just checking out."

I heard an exasperated sigh, "Checking _in _Ziva."

"Like it matters," I laughed, it was good to hear his voice again, good to know that he was still safe and that he still had my back.

"Alright, well on the flight you guys have to switch it off. Just go on your laptop if you need me. I'm sure Melinda has it somewhere in her bag," he told me, his voice carefree almost.

I nodded, "Alright, good bye Tony."

"Hey, Ziva," he began, "Stay safe, OK? Come back to us and make sure Gibbs comes back too."

I nodded, finally dawning on the fact that I had kept so carefully hidden in my mind; the face that one or both of us could possibly not come back alive.

"We will, we have each other's backs. Go back to working the case you were just on," I prompted him.

He sighed, "You mean the case of endless paperwork? Yeah, on it, Zee-vah."

I heard a tap and then his voice wasn't there anymore. I smiled, looking around the room to make sure that I hadn't forgotten anything and my eyes fell on the golden necklace by my bedside table.

I picked it up, running my fingers over the golden letters. I didn't remember getting this from anywhere, much less bringing it with me. I held the necklace up to the light, going through my internal dictionary and translating the Hebrew.

"Tali," I whispered, clutching the golden chain in my fist and holding back tears. The pain was still fresh from last night, as if it had just happened two seconds ago. It gnawed at my chest, ripping a whole through my body.

I heard the door click and turned around, the necklace pressed against my chest.

"You ready to go, Ziver?" he asked, his blue eyes bright.

I looked him over, he really did look stunning in the blood red button down shirt and the white tie just accented everything all the more.

I nodded, picking up my suitcase and slung my bag over my shoulder. Suddenly, I stopped. I checked in the suitcase once more to see the silver case still tucked carefully beneath my various dresses and shirts.

"Yes, but where is Melinda?" I asked, looking around for her things only to find that she was gone without a trace.

"She was only our guide for Paris, on Amsterdam, we're basically on our own, that's why we have the cameras and earwigs the team already set up in our hotel room," he told me, idly plucking at his cuffs, straightening them out, his suitcase already by his side.

I nodded, smiling. He walked to the door, suitcase in tow, and gently pried my fingers from the suitcase handle and took mine as well, while swinging the door open for me. I smiled and stepped out of the cramped room, walking past several rooms and up the flight of stairs onto the deck.

The chilly winter air blew at my hair and coat, making the smell of seawater drift into my face. I smiled, looking around the still fast asleep city. My eyes danced over the exquisite buildings, watching the still rising sun making the citadels sparkle and the famous Eiffel Tower glisten and shine, towering above all others.

I felt his arms wrap around my waist and felt his lips press a kiss against my neck.

"We'll always have Paris," he whispered into my ear, his voice soft.

I smiled and nodded, "Yes, and we will have Amsterdam as well."

He retracted his arms and we both got off of the boat, calling down a taxi, we stepped in, our luggage in the trunk.

"Airport please," I told the driver in perfect French.

I turned so that I was facing the window, taking in my last glimpses of the city of romance and memorizing each event that happened here, covering up the bad ones so that the few good memories stood out like black on white.

I will always remember that this was the city that we had first admitted our love for each other, the city where we first made love and completely let ourselves fall over the edge, both wrapped in each others embrace as if the other were our safety net.

I turned to face him, "Je t'aime," I whispered in his ear and earned a small chuckle as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"I'll always love you more, Ziver, always."

And that was a promise that was to never be broken.

**Slow, I know, but what till they're on the plane! Crazyyyy things are going to happen! Amsterdam is going to be full of action and heated romance, maybe more so than Paris! You never know! **


	13. Chapter 13

Ziva POV

The ride to the airport wasn't long and to my dismay we only saw a few of France's beautiful sights. When the taxi stopped, I quickly got out of the car, my senses on high alert as we grabbed out bags and suitcases, heading towards the check in line.

I handed Gibbs his ear wig and motioned for him to put it on. He sighed, and reluctantly put it in his ear.

"McGee, do you have a fix on the files?" I asked, my voice lowered as we put our suitcases onto the conveyer belt, the silver suitcase in my hand.

"Yeah, I'll send them to your laptop. Check them when you're on the flight but make sure that no one sees the files because they're your identity for Amsterdam," his voice was full of static and I could barely make out what he was hearing.

"Check your microphone, it's all static," I told him, faking a smile as the attendant handed us our suitcases again.

"Something wrong?" Gibbs whispered in my ear as we approached the security checkpoint.

"Nothing yet, although someone could be interfering with our transmitter; McGee should be able to fix it soon so no worries, yet," I told him, my voice low.

"Madame, I need you to put your case into the compartment to be checked," the security guard tapped me on the shoulder, making me face him.

I bent over the line of people and whispered, "We're with NCIS, federal agents."

"I will need to see some identification then," his brow furrowed, trying to decipher the letters and their meaning.

I motioned for Gibbs to open his badge and he did gladly, flashing his ID once at the guard and snapping it back shut, slipping it expertly into his pocket.

The guard nodded and ushered us through security, handing our suitcases back to us as we walked towards our gate.

"McGee, are ya there?" He half whispered and half shouted, his voice completely exasperated.

I heard a crackle of static and then, "Yeah, back boss. Sorry about that, we had a bug but we got rid of it now. So as I was saying, Abby and I sent the information to Ziva's laptop and both your phones so you should be able to access them soon."

"Good work, McGee, put Tony on, I want to know how the case is doing," Gibbs mumbled as he sighed into one of the leather seats.

I turned off my microphone and pulled out a magazine, pretending to look it over while watching the men and women enter and take their seats. I unconsciously did a 180 of the room, looking for anything suspicious and found a man in a leather coat, a pair of dark sunglasses hiding his eyes and a similar looking case to mine handcuffed to his wrist.

As if he felt my gaze slide over to him, his head turned the slightest centimeter to look at me, the lenses of his sunglasses covering his eyes so that all I saw was black. I faked a smile, and leaned forward, giving him a slight wink, hoping to make him go away.

He smiled back, flashing a set of pearly white teeth my way, and then looking away. I smiled and looked back down at the magazine.

"Gibbs, man in a leather coat, case handcuffed to his wrist," I whispered, leaning against him, my head resting against his shoulder.

I felt his neck turn ever so slightly and then turn away again. I slipped out my phone and snapped a quick picture and sent it to McGee.

"I want a background done on him before we get on the damn plane," Gibbs growled, his mood dropping rapidly.

"Y-yes boss, I'll have it done in about ten minutes," I heard him stutter and tried to cover up a smile.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are beginning to board all first class passengers at this time," the flight attendant announced.

"You got less than two minutes, McGee, make it work," Gibbs sighed and got up, pulling out our boarding passes. He handed me mine and took both our suitcases, leaving me with the silver case and handed our passes to the flight attendant.

She nodded after seeing our passports and let us go in. I sighed, we were back in a damned plane, only this time the flight was a lot shorter. I found our seats and sat down, already feeling the wave of nausea hit me.

"Hey, you alright, you look a little green," Gibbs commented, taking his seat next to me.

I nodded, "Fine, do not worry about it. Did McGee get the information forwarded to us yet?"

He sighed and shook his head, "He says he's working on it, but the fastest he can forward it is when we're already in the air."

I nodded and leaned my head against the window; closing my eyes and feeling sleep pull at me. I felt him move beside me and suddenly his coat was lying on top of my body. I breathed in his amazingly alluring scent and smiled my mind at ease.

I woke up with a jolt as the plan lurched downwards ten minutes or so later. I looked at Gibbs and saw that he was in deep conversation with McGee and wondered how his phone worked up here.

"What the hell is going on?" I heard him mutter, and kept my eyes closed, straining to hear their conversation.

I couldn't hear their response and decided to open my eyes just as a cart passed by, handing me a cup of water and a bag of pretzels.

He hung up the phone, clearly frustrated, just as the plane lurched again. I grabbed onto the arm rest, my fingers digging into the plastic, fighting against the rolling of my stomach.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked, his voice soft.

I nodded, wiping at my forehead that was now covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a slight problem with our pilot he," the voice paused and suddenly, there was a crackle of static and a different voice came on the air.

"The pilot's dead, we're flying this plane," the line went dead and suddenly we were enveloped with screams.

Gibbs turned to look at me, his face grim.

"Looks like we're going to be on this plane for a little longer than we expected," he whispered in my ear.

I nodded and looked up to hear the sound of leather boots pounding on the carpet. I stiffened in my seat, sitting up and erect, my hand on the gun in my pocket, ready to pull it out if necessary.

I looked over the seat to see a blond haired man with shockingly bright green eyes walking our way. He looked up to meet my eyes and his thin mouth curved into a cruel smirk.

I felt Gibbs's hand tighten over mine and gave me a reassuring squeeze.

He walked over to us, a gun in his hand and a knife in the other. He bent down to face us, his green eyes searching mine.

"So, what are you doing on this flight, my lovely lady?" He asked, that smirk still on his face.

"I am on a vacation with my husband," I gestured towards Gibbs who was shooting daggers at him with his eyes.

He laughed, and made a grab for me. Gibbs's hand flew out and caught his in midair, and bent it away from me.

"Don't touch her," he growled, his voice menacingly low.

He laughed, and cocked the gun and pointed it to his head, "Stay out of this, old man," he hissed and knocked him out cold with the butt of the gun.

He made a grab for me and I easily avoided it, standing up I grabbed his hand flipping him over onto the seat. Before he could move, I pointed my gun at his head, making him freeze in place.

"Give me a reason why I should not kill you," I hissed, my eyes burning with fury.

"Because if you do then you won't know how to stop the plane from crashing into the ocean," he gave me a smirk.

I froze, caught slightly off guard. He used that moment to grab my hand away and tear the gun from my grasp, and shot me in the arm. I instantly dropped to one knee, pulling out my knife I sliced his throat open.

I grabbed the laptop with my good arm hissing in pain as I felt the bullet tear through my muscles. I turned the laptop on and was greeted by Ducky's face.

"Ziva, my dear, what is going on on that plane?" He asked, his brow furrowed in confusion and worry.

I shook my head, "I need McGee on, now, before I can tell you anything."

He nodded and called McGee over who was coincidentally standing right next to him.

"Ziva! You're bleeding!" He gasped, his face in shock.

I shook my head, "That does not matter right now. Can you hack into an airplane's autopilot and change it's course?" I asked, turning around to see if there were anymore threats. All I saw were a bunch of shocked passengers sliding deeper into their seats.

"Um, maybe if I knew the flight's bar code," he said, his fingers already tapping away at the keys.

"It is 0987H-78D, I think," I told him, trying to remember as much information as possible.

He nodded, "Alright, pulling up the control panel now."

Suddenly, I heard movement to my left and looked up just in time to catch a fist flying my way. I grabbed it and without hesitation I flipped him onto his back into the aisle, knocking him unconscious.

"What happened?" Came McGee's worried voice.

I shook my head, "Keep hacking and tell Tony and the Director that someone has hijacked our plane and tell them that we need additional time to get to the hotel room."

"Alright, stay safe Ziva, I got your six from here," McGee whispered, his brows knit together.

I nodded, "Oh, and tell the director I need a new ID and badge, mine got lost in the bomb."

"Wait, what bomb?" He exclaimed, his eyes wide.

I shook my head and continued to walk away from him and turned to the frightened passengers.

"Everyone stay calm, my partner and I are federal agents from NCIS and we will all arrive in Amsterdam shortly," I told them in fluent French.

They nodded, relaxing slightly. I walked to the front of the airplane and felt someone's hand rest on my shoulder. I turned around, my gun drawn and was immediately met with piercing blue eyes.

"You should not be up," I began, my voice barely above a whisper.

He smirked, "Yeah, but I am. Keep going, David, I got you."

I nodded and turned the corner, slipping into the flight attendant section of the plane. I motioned for him to stay behind me and peeked over the corner to see that they were all tied up and three guards were posted around them, each one sported a gun.

I turned to face him and mouthed the words, "Three men, three guns, we can take them."

He nodded again and motioned for me to go on.

I flew around the corner and shot down the first two, not giving them a chance to cry out. I turned to face the third when the plane jerked again and rolled to the side. I tried to find something to grip onto but there was nothing around me but air.

I tumbled to the floor, rolling until I was pressed flat against the walls of the plane. I struggled against gravity that was pinning me down and saw the third gun man, his gun drawn. He was sprawled across the floor, unable to get up.

I saw him pull the trigger and a bullet wedged itself into my thigh. I clenched my teeth against the pain and instead moved forward, on my hands and knees.

"Gibbs! Stop the plane from crashing!" I yelled above the screaming of passengers and the roar of the engine.

He looked at me, his eyes full of desperation, and opened his mouth, but thought better of it, and closed it, running for the pilot's cockpit.

I found my gun on the floor and struggled to aim it through the pain. My arm was numb from my fall and I couldn't get a good shot. I pulled the trigger twice, lodging two bullets into his chest. I looked out the window to see that we were approaching water and cursed myself for being so slow.

I half ran, half limped towards the cockpit, throwing the door open. I heard grunts and the sound of flesh being beaten and turned to see Gibbs and one of the terrorists engaged in a wrestling match.

Without hesitation, I grabbed him off of Gibbs, throwing him towards the opposite end of the plane, and using my body weight to pin him there while Gibbs worked at the controls.

I struggled to restrain his body, and felt my resistance weakening. He turned and pushed me to the ground, getting on top of me. His hands went for my neck just as the plane lurched again, making him fall off of me.

I looked at Gibbs to see him gripping the steering wheel and attempting to pull it upwards, making the plane lurch.

"Ever fly a damn plane before, Ziva?" He asked through gritted teeth, his muscles rippling.

I shook my head and stood at the door way, watching as three men sauntered towards us, all of them heavily armed.

"Well than you better hope I'm a fast learner!" I yelled over the noise.

I gave him a small laugh and forced my injured leg into a fighting stance, my gun raised. I waited for them to come closer, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest and the sweat on my forehead rolling down my cheek from my temple.

I waited for them to come closer, not wanting to waste the four bullets I had left. My muscles clenched and unclenched, watching them step closer and closer, their boots pounding on the floor.

Then, without hesitation I pulled the trigger three times, getting all three of them in the neck and or head. I breathed a sigh of relief and sank down onto the floor, my gun rolling out of my grasp.

"Ziva?" I heard his voice, sounding so far away.

I felt the plane begin to elevate itself and let myself slip under the dark waves of unconsciousness.

Gibbs POV

"Ziva?" I called after the gun shots went off. I turned to see that the Israeli woman was sprawled across the floor, her leg bleeding heavily.

"Ziva!" I yelled, letting the autopilot take over, I rushed over to her, scooping her up in my arms and letting her head rest in the crook of my arm. I pulled off my belt and wrapped it around her leg, tightening the clasp and putting pressure on her wound to make the bleeding stop.

"Stay with me, Ziver," I whispered, willing her to hear me and hang on until we got to the airport so that I could call for help.

I picked up my fallen phone and dialed Ducky's number, "Duck, I need you to make sure a medical examiner meets us at the gate, Ziva's been shot."

"Oh my, where, Jethro? Is she conscious?" He asked, his Scottish accent making him sound even more worried.

I hesitated, "She's not conscious but she's breathing and in the thigh, Ducky."

"Alright, I will make sure you get a medical examiner at the gate waiting for you," he said, I heard a rustling of papers and then the line went dead.

"Gibbs?" She whispered, her voice muffled by my shirt.

I looked down, "Hey, Ziver, you feeling OK?"

She hesitated, debating whether or not she should say anything at all, "My leg hurts, but only a little. I have been through worse."

She still had to keep up her bravado, even here, I realized, "Well a doctor's gonna meet us at the gate, so just hang on a little while longer, OK?"

She nodded, and looked around, surveying the scene before us with a grim expression on her face.

"How did they know?" She said finally, her voice low.

I shook my head, "I honestly don't know. No one had our flight planes except for the director and the team back in D.C."

"No, Melinda scheduled our plans, she had most of our information because Leon sent it to her," she whispered, her eyes beginning to close again.

I prompted her awake with a light shake, "You have to stay awake, Ziver, and are you saying that Melinda did all this?"

"I do not know, Gibbs, it is simply an assumption and an option."

**OK, not really pleased with this chapter, review and give me ideas! AND FEEDBACK (:**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, I have midterms now and I am flipping out! **

**SPECIAL THANKS TO FAITH! :D**

Ziva POV

I felt my eyes closed and when I opened them again, we were off of the plane, in an elegant hotel room. I looked down to see that I was covered in blankets and moved my leg experimentally, seeing that it didn't hurt too much, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat on the edge, my head in my hands.

"You're awake?" Gibbs called from the next room, making me jump with a start. I barely remembered the flight here, all I remember was landing and the blood pouring everywhere.

"Yes," I called back, getting up slowly and walking into the next room, ignoring the pain.

He slid his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest, catching me by surprise, his lips so close to my ear that I could feel his hot breath on my bare skin.

"They're watching," he whispered and my senses went on over drive.

I turned and captured his lips to mine, letting all the lust and passion inside me finally flow out like a steady stream. His tongue poked at my lips, and I gladly allowed him entrance, my tongue slipping into his mouth. He tasted sweet, with a hint of coffee and mint. I smiled against his lips as he easily swung me into his arms.

His lips pressed firmly against mine, our kisses hungry and full of lust. I realized that I had been waiting for this moment ever since our last time making love, I had been hoping that he would just let go with me again.

He looked into my eyes for a silent confirmation and I gave it to him. His hands slid up my back, pulling my top over my head and throwing it into a corner. His lips grazed my neck, his head dipping into the crook of my neck and shoulder, sucking on my skin. I felt goose bumps beginning to form on my arms and sucked my breath in.

I felt him gently bite down on the sensitive spot on my neck and let out a soft moan. My hands clawed at his shirt, and with his help, it slipped off onto the floor. He deposited me on the bed and jumped up on top of me, my legs curling instinctively around his waist, feeling his hard erection digging into my stomach.

I kicked my already ruined skirt off onto the floor, briefly untangling my legs from underneath him. I lay face down on the bed, staring into his blue eyes, my chest rising and falling rapidly. He gave me a smirk and continued kissing me again, his lips soft against mine.

I pulled at his belt, sliding the leather out of the loops and throwing it across the room, tugging his black slacks off and doing the same. His mouth moved hungrily down onto the top of my breasts and he tore the black lace away, unclipping my bra, his mouth found my tart nipple and his tongue flicked at it.

"Oh God, please, now," I whisper, my back arching away from the bed.

He laughed, "Not yet, sweetheart, I'm not done with you just yet."

He continued to tease me, his mouth now at the little thong I wore to bed last night. He slowly pulled it down, his fingers brushing against my clit. Once the little black material was away, he slowly stuck two fingers inside of me, pumping in and out.

"I'm going to come," I gasp out, my breathing becoming quick and fast.

His body shifted from on top of me and I could now see him sticking out of his boxers. I hastily removed them, my hand caressing him. He repositioned himself on top of me again and began to thrust in and out, making me moan each time.

Our bodies were one, we were connected in every way, his mouth hungrily on mine, my lips pressing hard against his.

After forty minutes, we both collapsed full on onto the bed, our breathing heavy and our bodies covered in sweat. I turned to face him, still gasping for breath.

"That was amazing," I whispered, my chest rising rapidly and falling.

He smirked, "That's what they all say," was his cheeky response.

I cuddled closer against him until my head was on his chest and my lips at his ear.

"Do you think they believe it?" I whisper, my voice only loud enough for him to hear. He turned his face towards mine and gave me a quick kiss, lightly nodding his head yes.

I heard the phone ring beside me and groaned; picking it up, I checked the caller ID to see that it was blocked and answered it.

"Hello?"

"That was quite a show both of you put on for us," a mysterious voice sounded from the phone.

I froze; so they really had been watching our every move, "It was no show, we were doing what we do every night."

There was a pause and then he spoke again, "Very well, I will see the both of you at the café right across the street, in two days, at around nine o'clock am."

The line went dead and I clamped the phone shut, putting it back onto the desk, turning to face Gibbs, I saw that he had been on the phone with Abby.

"Did she get it?" I asked, leaning in and kissing him.

He shook his head and pulled me closer, pressing my body right up against his once more.

"We meet them in two days time, 0900 at the café across the street," I told him, kissing him once more before looking at the clock.

It was already 11 pm, we should be getting to sleep, I realized. I snuggled into his chest and he put his arms around me. I felt my eye lids droop until I was fast asleep, carefully tucked against him, listening to his heart beat.

I could get used to this, waking up and going to bed with Gibbs, was my last thought before I was pulled into the sweet land of unconsciousness.

Gibbs POV

I watched her sleep, wrapped up in my arms and kissed the top of her head. If only she knew how easy it was for me to slip into this role, to be her lover had been a dream of mine since she sacrificed her brother's life for mine.

I watched the moon dance across her face, casting shadows and smoothed her brown hair away with a delicate finger. I smiled, this was how it was suppose to be; being with her day and night and not really leaving her side.

Suddenly, I heard a clink of glass from the other room and sat up very slowly, on high alert. I looked down to see that Ziva's eyes were wide open, her hand clenched around a mini Lady Cold caliber. I gestured for her to stay there and walked into the living room, my gun raised.

"Hands in the air!" I cried, watching as the dark shadow was suddenly motionless. The shadow lifted it's head and I was shocked to see brilliant green eyes and flaming red hair.

"Melinda?" I wondered out loud, my voice still harsh.

She nodded, "I came back because they're after me; I couldn't stay in Paris and feel safe without you, Jethro."

I lowered my weapon to my side, coming up to her, I looked into her eyes to see that her face was filled with shallow cuts and bruises.

"What happened?" I whispered, brushing her hair away from her eyes.

She shook her head, "They bombed my apartment, I came looking for you afterwards, hoping that you could help me," she looked up hopefully.

I sighed, "I don't think I can, Melinda, I have a mission to finish, why don't you ask the NCIS team stationed there to help you out?"

She shook her head again, "They cannot protect me as well as you can; not when they're trying to catch them as well and acting as your backup."

"We had backup?" I questioned, finally realizing that I barely knew anything about this case; Vance had been sending us in blind.

She nodded, her face solemn, "But they are not very good; just transferred here a few months back."

I lead her into our bedroom to see Ziva with the Lady Colt pointed expertly at us. Once she saw my face, she lowered the weapon, but tensed never the less.

"Melinda needs our help," I told her, my voice stern.

She hesitated for a second before nodding and walking over to us. She stood in front of her, her fists clenched tightly to her side. I could just imagine everything that was going through her mind at this moment.

"What happened to you," was her simple statement.

Melinda glared back at her, "None of your business," she hissed back.

I stepped in between the two, my anger getting the best of me.

"Both of you stop acting like damn kids!" I turned to Ziva, my anger mounting, "You're acting like DiNozzo for God's sake! I'm not saying you have to be all nice to her but at least be _bearable! _Ziva, why are you being so immature about this?"

She flinched back as if I had hit her across the face and suddenly, just like that, my anger melted away and regret and frustration replaced it. She quickly wiped the emotion from her face and nodded once before turning and picking up a few things.

"Where are you going?" I ask weakly, upset and frustrated with myself.

"We have a couch," she tossed over her shoulder.

I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face as I lead Melinda over to the bathroom. I got out a first-aid kit and began dabbing at her wounds, putting bandages on her cuts.

"Anywhere else you're hurt?" I asked, my voice serious and incontrol.

She shook her head and leaned towards me, pressing her lips to my cheek, her breath warm against my skin.

"Thank you, Jethro," she whispered.

I nodded, pulling away. I didn't want her, I was just helping her, she's not Jen! I thought desperately, my mind going back to the night we had made love on that op in Paris. Her strawberry blonde hair sliding like silk through my fingers, her lips-no! I refuse to think of that right now!

"Take the bed, I'll be back in a few minutes. Get some sleep, you look like you need it," I told her, lightly giving her a shove towards the rumpled sheets.

She nodded, too exhausted to argue and I walked out, gently shutting the door behind me. I looked around the living room and saw a little note on the coffee table. My heart lurched; that was how Jen had left me, with a simple note laying flat against the smooth glass.

My mind ran back to how I felt when I read the note, hoping against hope that I would see her when I got back, but to my dismay, realized that she had been transferred. I could feel my heart breaking all over again into tiny pieces, all because of a piece of paper.

I jolted myself back into the present and steeled myself for the note, and cautiously picked the paper up, my hand trembling ever so slightly.

_Special Agent Gibbs-_

_ Went to the gym. Be back whenever._

_Ziva_

The note was short, just a few words, but they hurt all the more, dredging up past memories. Her tone was clipped, anyone could tell that from the way she used my formal title instead of just simply Gibbs, or Jethro.

I laid down on the couch, letting my feet hang off the side and reread the short little note, looking over each word, willing sleep to come to me. I waited for a few minutes, watching the red numbers flash on the clock and decided that I would join her at the gym instead of just wait for her.

I picked up a pair of running shoes from the closet and slipped on a jacket and sweats over my bare chest. I closed the door lightly, jogging down the few flights of stairs until I was at the gym, staring at her through the glass.

Ziva POV

I punched the punching bag, my face a mask of stone, my fists flying so fast that I barely even saw them move. I could feel my knuckles start to bleed from inside the gloves and knew that I was over doing it; it was a shame that I didn't give a fuck.

I couldn't believe he had said that to me! I punched the bag twice more, spinning around and landing a kick that sent the bag wavering dangerously on the medal cord it hung from.

I continued to take my anger out on the bag, punching and kicking it until I fell flat against the mats, my chest rising rapidly and falling, sucking in gulps of air.

I heard the door open and jumped to my feet, instantly moving into a defensive stance. I brushed my hair away from my eyes and saw _him _leaning casually against the frame of the door, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I said I would be back," I told him, letting my guard down slightly but never lightening my tone.

He nodded, "Just came to make sure you were OK, and to see if you were ready to come back yet?" He asked hopefully.

I ignored him and turned to go into a different room when his arm snaked out to grab me. My training taking over as well as my anger, I grabbed his arm, twisting it and pushing him to the ground, straddling him.

He rolled me over with a light kick and pinned me down. I squirmed out of his reach before he could get a good enough grip and got to my feet, my instincts and training becoming all that I was.

I aimed punches and kicks at him, but he blocked each one without hurting me, his eyes were a dark blue in this light, the moon's shadows making his silver hair shimmer.

I tried to hold him down, but he grabbed both my arms, pinning them behind my back and using his weight to make me crash down. I struggled against his hold, but realized that it was impossible. I lay under him, watching as his chest rose rapidly, his mouth open, sucking in more air.

I could smell the sweat and the sweet perfume that was just naturally _him _roll over me like a tidal wave. I drank in every detail of his now half unzipped jacket, revealing his bare chest and the way it hugged against his arms, defining his biceps even more so.

"You done starin' at me, David?" He asked, his voice soft and quiet.

I blinked once, trying to hold his gaze but failed and blinked again.

I looked at him, motioning for him to let me go, and when he didn't, I cried out in frustration.

"Get off of me, Agent Gibbs," I told him harshly, using his formal name. I saw the pain flash through his features but was quickly brushed away, hidden inside him, like everything that he has been

"Not until you forgive me, Ziva," he whispered, his voice pulling at me to let up and accept the silent apology he was giving me.

I shook my head, "I cannot forgive you for what you said to me tonight, if I had said that to you, would you forgive me?"

"Yes, I would," he answered without hesitation.

I gave him a "do you think I am stupid?" look and he just shrugged, so I asked, "Why would you forgive me? It cannot be that simple. What you said _hurt_."

He hesitated for a moment, before whispering, just loud enough for me to hear, "It is that simple, Ziver, I love you, that's why I would forgive you. I would do anything because _I love you_."

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	15. Chapter 15

Ziva POV

I looked into his clear blue eyes, in complete shock and analyzed every part of his body that touched mine; the way his torso held me down, the way his chest rose up and down in rapid breaths. I was looking for any doubt on his face, _anything _that would prove that he was lying. To my dismay and potential delight, I didn't find any.

"You really do love me? That is never going to change?" I whisper, my voice soft and husky.

He nodded once, "I don't know how else I can let you in, Ziver, or how I let you in or when, to begin with! But you got inside me, never the less, you got through my heart breaks, _my _walls, and into my heart."

I couldn't seem to find my voice or the anger that was so tangible a few minutes ago; it seemed to have disappeared all together.

"Gibbs," I began, but he put a finger to my lips, silencing me instantly.

"Jethro," he told me, his voice soft and yet still held a somewhat commanding edge to it.

"Jethro," I tried again, tasting his name on my tongue, "I refuse to let you break my heart, so if you are going to in the long run, do not even bother with whatever we are both feeling."

He nodded, "I would never intentially hurt you, you have to believe me, Ziver."

I hesitated, I wanted to believe him so bad, to just let myself be enveloped in his arms forever, but I knew that I couldn't, no I _wouldn't _allow myself to get hurt if he simply changed his mind the next day or the day after that. I knew that I couldn't take it if he told me that he didn't love me one day and I knew that that day was in the future. We could never be together, it wasn't a statement, it was a hard fact.

"I will do everything in my power to love you," he whispered, as if reading my mind, "If one day you think I'm not good enough anymore, then I'll let you go, I won't put up a fight, because I just want you to be happy, that's what's important to me, Ziver."

I felt my heart shudder a little and felt my last defenses crumble into a useless pile and fade away like my anger and frustration.

"I just don't want to get hurt again," I whisper, my voice sounding so small and delicate.

It was a wonder what this man could do to me, cause me the most frustration in my life only to take it away in a few minutes with a few words and promises.

He brushed away the tear that had drifted down my cheek with his thumb, resting his hand on my face.

"I will never hurt you, I give you my word," he whispered, crushing his lips to mine.

I felt myself kiss him back, my arms immediately locking around his neck and pulling him flush against me. His arms went around my waist, hugging me close and bringing me up onto his chest. He stood up and in a flash set me down on my feet, his arm never leaving my waist.

"We should go back to the hotel room, tell the others what happened to Melinda and get some more information and some more sleep," he told me, a smile on his face.

I could see the worry and relief show through as well as the fatigue and agreed. It was almost two in the morning and we hadn't slept for more than a few hours. I followed him out of the gym and into the awaiting elevator.

The door shut, and was waited as the elevator made its slow climb up to the fifth floor.

"Are we going to tell the others?" I whisper, dreading the answer.

He shook his head, "If we do, we compromise the mission. We have to act as if we are just partners or they'll be replacing one of us and I don't want a new partner for his case," he told me, the arm around my waist pulling me to his side and placing a chaste kiss on my cheek.

I nodded, he was right, my mind knew that, but my heart was begging to be with him every moment of every day and proclaiming our love. I wondered if he felt the same.

Gibbs POV

The doors dinged open and we walked out. Once we got to our room, I let my arm drop slowly from her waist and back at my side. I opened the door and immediately checked on Melinda who was fast asleep on my bed.

I looked at Ziva who nodded her head towards the bedroom, taking her place on the couch. I sighed and nodded, slipping into the bedroom and lying down cautiously beside the sleeping woman that had a striking resemblance to Jenny.

I felt her turn around and drape an arm around me and sighed; she was not going to make this easy, was she?

Ziva POV

I didn't sleep much, instead I pulled out an earwig and clipped it into my ear, waiting for Tony to wake up from his drowsy state.

"DiNozzo," I hissed, trying to keep my voice down.

I heard a crash and his voice came up, "Ziva! It's one am here! Or somewhere near that, can't find the stupid clock. What do you want?"

"I need a short briefing of what Gibbs and I are suppose to be," I told him, rubbing my eyes in a pathetic effort to try and stay awake.

"Well, you're both assassins, he's suppose to be like a total control freak, expensive suits, you dress like a hooker, Ziva," he laughed, flipping through my pages. I scoffed into the little mike and wanted to kill him.

"You're feisty, likes to take control, and have this weird obsession, you decide whether or not they should die, you play God, basically," he said, giving another dry chuckle.

"Get on with it, Tony, I don't have all night," I told him, my voice drowsy as I scribbled down the short facts he gave me.

"Alright, god, you're the one that called when ever sane person should be asleep!" He paused, "You usually meet clients in expensive cocktail dresses, should be in your closet, both of you are suppose to match, it's a weird thing."

"Anything else?" I ask tiredly.

"Nope, that's about it," he said, "Can I please get back to sleep now?" He asked, trying to sound impatient.

"Yes, Goodnight Tony," I told him.

"Wait! Ziva! Stay safe, alright? And tell Gibbs for once in his life, put on a damn vest," Tony added, his voice laced with mild concern.

I smiled a little, "Alright, thank you Tony, for all your help."

"No problem, Ziva, I just want to see both of you again after all this, preferably not at the morgue or the hospital," he said grimly.

"You won't, he's got my six and I've got his, yes?"

He laughed, "Yeah, well, night, Ziva."

The line went dead and I pulled the ear wig out, dropping it back onto the table. I walked back onto the couch and sat down, snuggling in comfortably into the soft fabric. I let sleep pull at me and after a few short seconds, I was fast asleep, my mind drifting towards the man in the other room.

-NCIS-

Ziva POV

I woke up feeling something warm shinning down on my face and frowned, opening my eyes ever so slightly to see the sun shinning through the thin curtains and sat up, stretching, hearing my joints pop and feeling the stiffness of sleeping on a couch all night.

I swung my legs over the edge of the couch and blinked a few times before walking into the bedroom, forgetting momentarily that she was in there until I turned to the bed to see them wrapped around each other, her shirt discarded and his shirt next to hers.

I stopped in my quest towards the closet and my eyes narrowed. So, I thought, last night apparently meant nothing to him, he was wrapped around her, _again_.

I tore my eyes away from them and grabbed a purple cocktail dress from the closet and went to the bathroom, grabbing a towel on my way out and slamming the door behind me, jolting the whole room.

I heard him jerk up and out of bed and continued walking into the bathroom, closing the door before his feet were even on the floor.

Gibbs POV

I woke up with a jolt as the door slammed shut and looked down; I was half naked. I looked over to see Melinda in only a bra and shorts and wondered what the hell happened. I slowly went back down onto the bed, and immediately her arms were wrapped around me.

I sighed, this couldn't' be happening, I thought silently, I had just gotten her back last night, and she obviously saw us. She wouldn't forgive me for this one and the worst thing was that I didn't even know what the hell happened with me and Melinda.

I shook her awake, whispering her name, my brows knit together.

"Mmm, what?" She mumbled sleepily.

"What the hell are you doing, Melinda?" I asked, my voice a low hiss.

She opened her eyes but didn't remove her arm from my waist and my bare chest, just looked me up and down.

"Jethro, you don't have to pretend with me, I know how you feel about me," she whispered, her voice soft and understanding.

"I don't feel anything with you! I _feel _something for the woman that just walked out on me because you had yourself wrapped around me!" I yelled, trying to shake her and get her to realize what was really going on.

"I'll let you stay here, but only because I don't want you to get yourself killed," I told her, my voice getting a little bit softer.

She looked at me, her green eyes boring into mine, "Alright," she whispered, getting out of bed and walking away from me, knocking on the door of the bathroom.

"Hurry the hell up!" Melinda yelled.

I winced; Ziva was already at her breaking point and I was already beginning to feel like a bastard.

I heard the water shut and Ziva opened the door, her eyes stony and cold.

"Get. A. Different. Bathroom." She hissed, her voice dangerously low.

Melinda's eyes opened wide but she quickly stoned herself and kept her emotions in check and walking away from the door, turning on her heel.

I walked towards the bathroom door, prepared for her to completely lash out but the door slammed right in my face, and the water turned on again.

"Dammit," I whispered, my fist slamming on the door, not even bothering to ask her to let me in.

"Ziva, I just want to talk," I said, after waiting for over half an hour.

I heard the door unlock and slowly opened it to see her in the shower, the curtain pulled and a fog filling the air.

"What," her voice was like ice cutting through me.

"It wasn't like that, I was asleep, and she just came onto me," I began, but she cut me off.

"And you just couldn't resist," she hissed out, not even bothering to meet my eyes or let me finish. She continued, each word hurting me more than I could possibly imagine.

"I will pretend to be your girlfriend for this mission, but this mission _only_. But once this is all over, I am transferring out of your unit and you will never see me again."

I felt my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach, my heart shattering as it hit the cold bottom. I felt tears well up in my eyes and chastised myself for crying; I didn't cry, I never cried!

"No, it wasn't like that! I was asleep, Ziva! Do you not see her? She looks exactly like Jen, I miss Jen, Ziva, I miss my ex partner, the one that walked out on me in Paris," I told her, my heart shattering even more. I sank to my knees, feeling the emotions raging around me.

The water shut and the curtain slowly pulled itself open. I had my head in my hands and felt the hot tears running down my cheeks.

"I didn't know," she whispered.

I looked up, and saw her naked body flushed a faint pink of embarrassment and heat, the water dripping off of her hair.

She got out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself and walked over to me, sitting down beside me. She pulled me to him, putting my head in her shoulder.

"God, I miss her," I sobbed into her shoulder, I couldn't believe the tears that were slipping down my cheeks after keeping them back ever since I saw her blood spewed on the floor.

Ziva POV

I let him cry into my shoulder, fully aware of my bare skin being exposed. I felt his hot tears slip onto my shoulder and down my chest. I felt my heart lurch and break for him; if I hadn't listened to Tony that night and if I had gone back for her, to make sure she was OK, then maybe, just maybe, she would still be alive.

"It's OK, Jethro, I'm here, it's OK," I whispered in his ear, my hand smoothing his hair away from his face and rubbing his back.

His tears immediately stopped, and he tensed beside me. He lifted his head and looked into my eyes, his blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, finally breaking down the final barrier; admitting weakness and allowing me in; all the way in.

I gave him a small kiss on his cheek, finally realizing that he couldn't let go of Director Shepard and decided that I had to let him heal first. I felt tears in my eyes but quickly hid my face away from him to be

"Jethro," I began, standing up and picking up the fallen tower, wrapping it around myself, "We can't do this; you have to heal first."

He looked up, standing up after me, his arms out and then thinking better of it, letting them fall to his side.

I could see him hurting, could see the pain flash across his face in a wave of pain, immediately hating myself for doing this to him.

Then, he nodded, "Yeah, I guess I do," he mumbled, opening the door, giving me a look and then closing the door softly after him.

I let the towel drop, my heart seemed to disappear and didn't seem to exist anymore. I pulled on the dress, letting a single tear fall as I slipped the dress on. I didn't know how much longer I could do this, I didn't know how much longer I would be _alive, _to be exact.


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! Here's the next chapter!**

Ziva POV

I threw the towel across the spacious bathroom in a blur of furry and felt the hot tears sting as they slid down my cheeks. I hastily wiped them away, slipping on the dazzling dress. I looked myself over in the mirror, admiring the way the dress shimmered in the light. The dress had a low cut front and back, perfect for going around town, and planting bugs in the small café.

I picked up the small amount of makeup I had brought with me and decided to do a purple smoky eye, reining my emotions so that they were once more backed up inside of me. I straightened my now dried hair and let it fall to my shoulders.

I opened the door and walked swiftly to the opposite bedroom, not giving a certain red head the pleasure of a single look.

I sat at the desk, fastening the ear wig back on into my ear and opening up the laptop.

Almost immediately, Abby's face appeared on the screen, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Ziva! How's Europe with boss-man? What did you guys do? Where did you guys go?" She asked, automatically bombarding me with questions.

I sighed, "Europe was," I scrambled for the right words. A few came to mind, like heartbreaking, hurt, and left abandoned, "interesting," I settled.

She gave me a long look and then continued in a really quiet voice, "What happened, Ziva?"

I sighed, it still amazed me how she could see right through me so easily.

"Our mission could be," I hesitated, "Compromised. I think it is best if Gibbs and Melinda become the couple for our next destination. I," I stopped again, holding back tears, "I should just be protection detail for them."

"What? No! Ziva come on! You can't just leave Gibbs with that . . . that. . ." she struggled to find the word.

"Bimbo?" I supplied, a small smirk on my face.

"Yeah!"

` I laughed and shook my head, the sadness and guilt returning almost immediately.

"I will go through with our meeting tomorrow, Abby, but as soon as we pack up to leave, I won't be his lover or his wife when Melinda is clearly capable," I told her, tears welling up in my eyes, "I refuse to stand between them. Tell the Director that."

Before she could protest, I shut the laptop screen off and began going through files, my heart seeming to crack even more. And this time, I thought, no one will be there to catch you when you fall.

Gibbs POV

I pressed my ear to the door, only catching the last bit of their conversation and felt my heart break with each word she said.

"I will go through with our meeting tomorrow, Abby, but as soon as we pack up to leave, I won't be his lover or his wife when Melinda is clearly capable," she told her, "I refuse to stand between them. Tell the Director that."

I felt shock coarse through my body, she's giving up on you, Jethro, I thought; I deserved it. I was being a self righteous bastard, always pushing her away. If that's what she wants, then I won't stand in the way of that. She deserved someone better, I had been telling myself that for months now.

"Jethro," Melinda began after a few minutes, "I just got a call from your Director that we are posing as the couple on the next docking point?"

I just nodded numbly and followed her back into our bedroom, wondering if she was hurting just as much as me.

"We should go visit the ship then, tell the captain that we got his back," Melinda said, a smile on her face.

I shook my head, "I have to get the mics and cameras installed in the café with Ziva first."

She looked slightly disappointed but nodded and handed me my coat. I shrugged it on without a second glance at her and knocked on the door Ziva was in.

"You ready to go?" I ask her, my voice gruff and commanding.

She opened the door and looked up, making me catch my breath right in my throat. The dress hugged against her body, dipping low at her breasts and stopping just barely at mid thigh. Her perfectly tanned skin was on display and the shimmering purple was accented by the purple eyes shadow she had applied.

She nodded, her coat draped over one arm and her heels in her other hand. She slipped them on and then followed me out the door without saying a word.

I held the elevator door open for her and hit the ground floor. I waited until the elevator was moving before hitting the emergency stop button.

"You're not going undercover with me after this docking point?" I ask her quietly, my brows knit together in confusion and hurt.

She hesitated, "How did you know that?" She asked quietly, not meeting my eyes.

"I over heard you telling Abby about it when I was walking to get the jacket," I lied casually.

She nodded, "Well, yes, I am, do you have a problem going undercover with her?"

She dipped her head so that it was now facing me straight on, her brown eyes giving away nothing and her face a hard mask.

"No, Ziva, I don't," I began, "But I need to know why you can't work with me."

She glared at me and stepped closer, her face inches from mine, her face flushed a light pink.

"You know damn well why, Special Agent Gibbs."

I flinched at my formal title and told her in a very soft voice, "You will not speak to my like that, Agent David, are we clear?"

She gave me a small smirk, "Crystal," she hissed and hit the start button, once again sending us in motion. She held her form still and glared at the elevator doors, willing them to open as soon as possible.

When the elevator dinged, she was out of the small compact medal box in a heartbeat, disappearing into the darkness of the ground parking lot.

Ziva POV

He knew why I was switching assignments, so why did he want me to say it out loud in the first place? I thought as my heels clacked on the cement floor. I squinted my eyes slightly in a vain effort to see through the never ending darkness and spotted our car.

I took a few steps forward when I felt a hand press over my mouth. Instinctively, I lashed out, releasing all my anger and flipping the man over onto his back. I immediately got on top of him and pointed the gun I had concealed up my dress at his head.

"Tell me who you are or you die," I told him, my voice menacingly low.

He opened his eyes and I was suddenly staring into a pair of bright green eyes, a pair of green eyes I knew so well.

"Ziva, you do not recognize your old partner?" He asked, a small smirk on his face.

I let him gently roll me off of him and help me to my feet, "David?' I whispered, not believe that he had followed me here.

He laughed and embraced me, hugging me close to his chest, "Ah, Ziva, I knew that you would never forget me! Your father said that you were as good as dead to us now that you were with the Americans but I knew that he was very wrong."

I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing a small kiss to his cheek.

"You were right to trust your instincts, David, but how did you find me?" I asked, pulling away to look at him.

"I have been tracking you ever sense you left Paris, we received word that a young Israeli girl with your complexion and hair color was seen there; so, I came to investigate myself and here you are!"

I laughed again, my laughter bouncing off the walls of the empty parking garage.

"Ziva, I heard voices-" I pulled away from David in time to see a certain bright blue eyed man with silver hair standing with his gun raised.

"Ziva, who is this?" David whispered in my ear, raising his gun as well. I stood in between them motioning for Gibbs to set his gun down.

"Special Agent Gibbs," I formally addressed him, internally wincing at his formal name, "this was my partner, David Karkarof, David, this is my partner, Special Agent Gibbs from NCIS."

David lowered his gun and Gibbs followed suit. Both men began eyeing each other up as I stood in between them, willing the tension to drift away.

"Please," Gibbs grunted out, going towards our car and opening the door, motioning for me to get in.

"But, we have a meeting to attend," he growled out. I followed him into the car and as soon as my door was closed, he roughly backed the car out of it's parking space and headed full speed out of the garage.

"Ziva, I don't trust him," he mumbled, cautiously checking our car for any bombs or GPS tracking devices.

I glared at him, feeling even more infuriated when he didn't so much as spare me a glance.

"He was my partner, Gibbs, took two bullets for me once," I told him, my voice hard.

He shrugged, "I still don't believe that he tracked you here, all by himself, and just so happened to stumble upon our hotel when it was confidential and need-to-know."

I nodded, it did look suspicious, but I know David, I reminded myself.

"That does not mean you can trust them, Ziva," I reminded myself, thinking back to the night I killed Tali. I had known her my whole life, and yet, she had faked her own death and joined Hamas.

I sat there quiet for the rest of the ride, my brain submerged in thoughts of David, Gibbs, and Melinda and where I was in this whole mess.

"Ziva," he whispered, shaking me awake, "we're here," he handed me two video cameras I had to place along the walls to let Tony and McGee get a good view of the café.

I opened my eyes and took the cameras, stepping out of the car with my jacket on. I felt moisture hit my head and looked up just in time to see that it had begun raining. I sighed, I used to love the rain, I thought.

I didn't hear him walk over behind me until he had his arm around my shoulders and an umbrella above my head, shielding me from the cold rain.

"Come on, let's get going," he whispered and I followed him into the small café. I pushed open the door and heard the bell jingle as we both stepped in and waited to be seated.

I looked around, giving the room a 360 degree sweep and catching glances from men at the bar, gladly taking in my exposed skin and mumbling to each other, never taking their eyes off of us.

I spotted a bulletin board in the back and stopped a waiter passing by.

"Excuse me sir, but where is the bathroom?" I asked, my voice silky smooth.

He blinked for a few seconds and pointed towards the back, a small smile on his face. I nodded my thanks and sauntered over to the board, past the bar and bent down and place the camera directly in the center of the board, giving them a full visual of the room.

"Miss, can I help you?" A heavily accented man asked, making me turn around.

"No, I was just reading the menus you have here, I can't decide which one to order," I laughed, making him grin.

"Ziva!" I heard Tony's voice through the earwig and almost jumped ten feet; I had forgotten that I hadn't take n it out yet.

"You have to place one in the managers room, he's a suspect," McGee's voice drifted into my ear.

"Alright," I coughed out, watching the man leave.

"Where the hell is it?" I asked, looking around and spotting Gibbs talking to a few waiters at a time.

His eyes met mine and he gave a jerk of his head towards the back of the room. I nodded and walked past the bathroom doors and spotted the Manager's room up ahead. I checked in the kitchen windows to see that everyone was busy and they wouldn't seem to notice if I snuck in and back out.

"Gibbs, do you have the manager occupied?" I whispered into the mic.

"Yeah, asking him about something called lobster bouillabaisse ," he chuckled.

I nodded and took out a clip from my hair, and began picking the lock. My nimble fingers worked the pin in the small key whole opening until I heard a subtle click and smiled with satisfaction. I walked into the office, pulling out my phone as I went. I shut the door silently behind me and strode over to his desk, taking pictures of the various papers.

I opened the desk drawers and found stacks of files and looked around, hoping that Gibbs would be able to stale him a moment longer.

I opened each file carefully, memorizing where each one went and took pictures of them.

"Ziva, he's coming your way, get out of there!" Gibbs whispered. I froze and hastily put the files back and sent the pictures to McGee's phone. I hid under his desk and felt my heart lurch in fear.

I heard his footsteps approaching and made myself curl into a tight ball. I heard the door click open and he walked in, muttering under his breath.

"Stupid Americans," he grumbled.

He sat down at his desk and my eyes went wide as his feet slowly crept towards me. Suddenly, his door burst open.

"Your waiter just threw my lobster across the damn room!" Gibbs yelled indignantly, I suppressed a chuckle at his mock anger.

The manager sighed and got back up, "Come with me, let's explain this."

Once the door closed again, I planted the video camera behind a picture, expertly making a small hole for the camera to see through. I pulled out the disk McGee had given me and went to his computer, turning it on and putting the CD in.

As I waited for the virus to download, I couldn't help but feel as if he would walk in any minute. Once the bug was installed I pulled out the CD and tucked it away underneath my dress and opened the door to go back out of his room.

I was about to walk out, when the door burst open and there he stood two gun men behind him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Here you go! Next chapter (: Thanks for all the support!**

Ziva POV

"I don't know what you are doing in my office, but whatever you have found, you will not be using it in court," he hissed, the gun men descended towards me, their guns aimed at my chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I told him innocently, adding a touch of fear in my voice, trying to make him believe me.

He laughed, "I am not stupid, we know who you are, you should've known that you would've died sooner or later. Better it be at our hands then someone else's, am I right?"

I looked at him, my head cocked to one side, plans already spinning inside my mind. I flipped through different scenarios, my eyes darting from the door to the windows and back again. I let my hand lay flat against the fabric of my dress and slowly, while they walked towards me, I slipped out my gun.

Without hesitation, I fired two rounds into the first gun man's chest, diving under the desk while the second gun man stood there, in shock.

I heard two rounds go off that weren't my own and felt the bullets wedge into my stomach, I gasped in shock and pressed a hand to my wounds, applying as much pressure as I could muster. I heard two more rounds go off and fell to my side, my breathing coming out in short gasps.

"Ziva!" I heard him yell and looked up at him, blood beginning to well inside my mouth.

"Ziva, look at me!" He yelled again, jolting me back to consciousness.

I tried to keep my eyes open but to my dismay, they were slipping closed. Suddenly, my eye lids seemed to weigh a ton and I couldn't keep them open anymore.

"Gibbs," I whispered, but he cut me off, pressing a kiss to my lips. The kiss was too short for my liking, a kiss that just spelled out good bye.

"Stay with me, Ziver, I can't lose you, not now," he told me, his voice urgent and pressing against my muddled brain.

I nodded, struggling to follow his orders as my eyes closed shut.

Gibbs POV

"Ziva!" I yelled, rushing over to her after checking that they were both dead. I rounded the corner of the desk to see her slumped on the floor, blood seeping out through her fingers and staining her dress and carpet.

"Ziva, look at me!" I told her desperately, pulling her face up so that she would focus. I stared into those soft brown eyes, desperately trying to wipe the fog that was clouding them away with my voice.

Her eyes began closing and I felt the familiar wall of panic rear up again.

"Gibbs," she whispered, her voice already signaling her departure from this world. I watched helplessly as her eyes began to close once more until they were barely open. I couldn't leave things this way, I realized, and so, my lips crushed against hers, seeking out her mouth with a hungry need.

This wasn't good bye, I thought to my self, I _will _see her again, the paramedics will get here and I will see her alive and breathing again soon.

"Stay with me, Ziver, I can't lose you, not now," I told her, trying to make myself sound like I believed it, but I knew that it was almost too late.

The door crashed open and two men with a gurney set in between them shoved me aside, pulling her up onto the gurney.

I watched as they checked for a pulse, my body numb and unfeeling. I felt the familiar ache in my chest return and winced. This wasn't happening, I thought silently as the young man turned around and shook her head.

They got out the paddles and charged them, pressing them onto her chest, making her limp, lifeless body come back up. I watched with tears in my eyes, my heart breaking off, piece by piece, as her lifeless body was shocked over again over again.

I held my breath; waiting for a pulse that I knew would never come but hoped against all odds that it would.

"Faint, but it is there," the man whispered and they quickly moved her out of the room. I followed after them, not allowing myself to fill with relief in case I did loose her on the way to the hospital.

You can't let this go on, Jethro, I chastised myself. You can't let her do this! Why did you even let her go and get the information in the first place when you could've done it yourself?

I jumped into the back of the ambulance, clutching her hand to my chest and brushed her hair away from her face. She just might die without knowing you love her, I thought silently, she just might leave without knowing that she has your heart with her.

They lost her twice on the ride there and each time I felt myself stagger back as if I had taken a hit to the gut. Once we arrived at the hospital, they immediately rushed her into surgery, leaving me calling out her name.

"Just let me in there to make sure she's OK!" I yelled at the nurse, giving her a cold, hard stare.

She flinched slightly but shook her head, "Only doctors and surgeons are allowed. You can wait in the waiting room for family."

"Dammit!" I cursed, my fist pounding against the wall as I walked into the waiting room, my head in my hands. I took out my cell phone and without my own accord, I began dialing DiNozzo's number.

"DiNozzo," he answered, his voice clipped and short.

"Tony, get the fastest flight out to Amsterdam, bring McGee, Abby Ducky, ah hell anyone that Ziva was close with out here," I told him, my voice losing the gruff edge I so often kept with me.

"What? Why! Boss, is she hurt? Is she going to be alright?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

I sighed, "They lost her twice in the ride here, DiNozzo, I watched her body flop up and down on that damn gurney three too many times today. I don't know, alright?"

"Three? I thought you said twice?" His voice made him sound ten years older, filled with frustration and guilt that he wasn't there to watch her six.

"Yeah, lost her after she got shot too."

"Boss, I thought you would be watching her six!" He yelled over the phone, his frustration seeping out.

I sighed, "We were undercover, getting some information, which reminds me. Tell the Director we have to pull the plug on this one. She almost died; this is CIA work now, not ours. We have nothing to do with this other then that ship."

There was a pause, "I don't think he'll go for it, Gibbs, as much as I want you guys back home, I don't think I can convince him."

I sighed, I couldn't believe what I was saying anymore. Back out of a mission? I would had never backed out of an op, especially a big one. So, I began to ask myself, what changed?

_You fell in love again, _that annoying voice sounded inside my head.

"Boss, you still there?" Tony asked, his voice quiet.

I paused for a second, getting my bearings, "Yeah, Tony, I'm still here. I want you guys here, as soon as possible, tell the Director I don't give a damn what he's going to do to me when I get back, I want all of you here watching this op if we have to continue it."

"Got it boss, McGee is booking the flights, we should be there tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

"Good work, DiNozzo, I'll see you soon," I told him, about to hang up.

"Wait; boss, Ziva's going to be OK, she won't just give up, she'll fight for her life, boss, she loves it here at NCIS, she'll fight for it," he told me, trying to reassure me.

I nodded, not convinced, "Yeah, DiNozzo, she will. I will not let her die."

I clamped the phone shut and waited, my head in my hands for over three hours, my mind in turmoil. I didn't know the meaning of time anymore as I watched the clock turn around and around, waiting for the chance to see her.

She can't die without knowing that you love her, she just can't! I thought to myself, getting up to get a cup of coffee.

"Excuse me, but are you here for Ziva David?" A doctor asked, making me turn around.

"Yeah, I am, is she alright?" I asked, running towards him, forgetting the absent thought of getting a cup of coffee.

He hesitated for a second, and whispered, "I'm sorry, but. . ."

**OH MY GOD! IS SHE DEAD?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Wow I am so cruel! I can't believe I killed her off!**

Gibbs POV

_ He hesitated for a second, and whispered, "I'm sorry, but . . ."_

I felt my heart drop like a stone, the hospital room fading away until it was just an annoying din sounding in the background. I felt a piece of me being ripped away from me the moment those words left his lips. I held my breath, waiting for him to go on and yet not wanting to hear any of it.

"But what?" I asked, defeated, letting my body flop back onto the plastic chair, a hand over my eyes in a desperate attempt to hide my tears.

"The surgery was successful, but she has lost too much blood. She's in a coma; we don't know when she is going to wake up, or even if she will wake up. But if she does, there is a good chance that she will be a very different woman," the doctor told me, his voice filled with pain as well.

I looked up, "But she's alive?" I whispered, my voice hoarse with emotion.

He nodded, "Just barely. The machines are keeping her alive. Without them, well, she would be dead."

I nodded, my mouth twisted in a thin line, "Can I see her?" I asked, standing up and shaking legs.

He nodded and lead me to her room and opened the door for me and motioning for the nurse to come out. I closed the door behind me and turned towards the bed to see her limp form lying beneath the covers, several tubes and wire connected to such a small body.

It made me feel so helpless and it made me want to kill myself right then and there; to see a woman once so strong and independent now have to rely on machines to keep her life going.

I slowly approached her, letting the tears fall to the floor and sat down in the chair, taking her hand in mine.

"I am so sorry, Ziver," I whispered, letting my weakness show through.

"I shouldn't have let you get the information and plant the bug. I should've been the one to do it, not you. It should be me lying here on this bed, you don't deserve this," I whispered, squeezing her hand and using my other hand to brush away the pieces of hair that were covering her face.

"Please, wake up," I whispered, pressing a kiss to her hand, letting my lips graze over the silky smooth skin that was now a pale olive.

I watched the bright green line signaling her life force go up and down and wondered if she would ever wake up and be the same Ziva I knew, the same independent, strong, beautiful, woman that I had fallen in love with.

I vowed to myself that I would tell her who she was and free the woman that was trapped inside of her, and let the old Ziva come back out; and when I did that, I thought, I _will _not screw this up and I will tell her that I love here, that my heart is and always will be for her.

Suddenly, my phone rang, breaking the almost comfortable silence. I sighed, quickly reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone, I flipped it open.

"Yeah, Gibbs," I answered, my voice sounded defeated, even to me.

"Jethro, where are you! It's been hours since you guys went in, did it work or not?" Melinda asked, her voice urgent.

I sighed, "Melinda, Ziva's in a coma . . . there's a good chance she won't be waking up for some time."

There was a silence on the other end as the other woman processed the information.

"So she blew our cover?" She growled, her voice filled with fury.

"They knew who she was before she even set foot in the damn café, you can't blame this one on her!" I hissed into the phone, hoping that Ziva wouldn't be able to hear this.

"She should've been more careful! Aren't Mossad officers trained to deal with this kind of thing?"

"Well, gee, Melinda, why don't you get shot twice in the stomach and ask me how you feel the next day?" I growled, slamming the phone shut and throwing it across the room, watching it break into pieces.

"Wow," I heard a voice in the door way and turned around to see the nurse leaning against the wall, an IV bag in her hand, her eyes wide.

I sighed, "Sorry, work issues," I told her, focusing my eyes back on Ziva's limp and unmoving form.

She nodded, "Yeah, I thought as much." She walked across the room and examined what remained of the cell phone and laughed.

"You really should take better care of your electronics," she observed, wiping up the contents into a bag and replaced her IV.

I gave her a smirk, "Yeah, well," I told her, looking away.

"She will pull through this, you know," the nurse whispered, turning towards me just before she went out the door.

"The doctors said she wasn't going to make it and would die on the operation table, but she's still here. She's strong enough," with those final words, the nurse walked out, leaving me to process what she had said.

I sighed, it had been a really long day that felt like a decade. I let my eyes close and rested my head on her bed, soon falling into a disturbing sleep.

I dreamed of Kate; watching in slow motion as the bullet drilled itself through her skull and watched her expression go from a smile to a look of shock and horror. I felt the wet blood spatter across my face and I watched the blood pool beneath her.

Then, the dream faded and I saw Jen's body; lying in a medal slab in autopsy. I hadn't had the guts to go to her funeral; afraid to see her lifeless body lying in a casket; her once vibrant red hair now faint and pale.

Finally, everything changed and I saw Ziva; lying motionless underneath the sheets. I turned towards the doctor, looking at him and waiting for him to do something. The doctor shook his head and began flipping off the machines one by one, taking her life.

"No!" I yelled, trying to stop him, but I was too late. The green line indicating her life had now gone flat and they were already taking a white sheet and covering her body up. I watched with tears in my eyes and a sick wave of nausea in the pit of my stomach as the rolled her away to their morgue.

"No!" I yelled again, jolting awake and looking around the silent hospital room. My eyes immediately looked towards the glowing machines and to my relief, they were still on.

I sighed into my chair and looked at the clock; it was almost time for DiNozzo and the rest of the gang to get here. I sighed, standing up, about to pull my hand away from hers, when I felt her tug on it.

My eyes widened and I looked down to see her keeping a death grip on my hand, not letting it go.

"Ziva, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand twice," I whispered, sitting back down, willing her to open her eyes or do something to indicate that she was alive.

I felt slight pressure on my hand once more and smiled, "You can hear me," I breathed, and kissed her forehead lightly.

The door burst open and Tony flew through the doors, his eyes red and his hair out of place.

"Ziva!" He yelled, running the short distance to her bedside and taking her free hand, the Italian's face filled with remorse for his partner.

Then, he looked at the machines behind him, "Those things are keeping her alive, boss?" He asked me, not taking her eyes away from her face.

I nodded solemnly, stroking the back of her hand.

'Tony's here Ziva, he was so worried about you," I told her, my voice soft.

She squeezed my hand in acknowledgement.

"She can hear you?" Tony asked, pulling up a chair.

I nodded, "But she can't wake up. It's like she wants to, but her brain just won't let her," I replied sadly.

He nodded, "Well Ziva, you got us all worried! Gibbs made us take the first flight over to Amsterdam, hell, the whole time we were fidgeting in our seats, hoping that you were still alive."

I looked at Ziva's face, willing a response, but saw none.

I couldn't help but feel even guiltier. I had caused all of this; it should have been me lying underneath those sheets; not her. She didn't deserve to be handicapped and unable to wake up, I did. Hell, I was a self-righteous bastard anyways, and she wasn't.

"I thought you had her six boss," Tony whispered quietly, his eyes never leaving her face, willing a response.

"I thought I did," I told him honestly.

"Well obviously, you didn't!" He growled, looking up at me, his eyes full of tears.

"What if she dies here or she never wakes up, huh? She's never going to be the Ziva that we both love so much even if she does wake up! And the sick part is; is that it's all _your fault!" _He roared, leaping to his feet, the anger pulsing through his veins along with the guilt that he wasn't there for her.

I saw the tears in his eyes and let him go on with his rant, knowing full well that he was right and had every right to say this to me.

"If I were there, then maybe this wouldn't have happened because I would have watched the door or done _something _to make sure that she was ok! God, Gibbs, didn't your gut tell you that something was wrong? Didn't you even bother to _listen?" _He asked, tears now sliding down his cheeks.

Ziva POV

I heard Tony's voice, yelling and pulsing around the room, bouncing off the walls and finally, into my ears.

I wanted him to stop yelling at Gibbs, he was not at fault here, no matter how much Tony was antagonizing him and how much he was antagonizing himself. I felt something wet fall onto my cheek and realized that Tony was crying.

I wanted to comfort both of them, tell them that I would wake up soon, that I could hear him and I wanted him to stop, but every time I tried to press out of the darkness, the light at the end seemed to grow further and further away. That's where they are, I realized, they're right there, in the light.

To my surprise, Gibbs didn't say a word, he just sat there, his grip on my hand comforting, tracing circles around and around.

"Gibbs, this isn't your fault," I thought silently, hoping that somehow he would be able to hear me.

I tried to force my eyes open, but the darkness descended upon me again, and I fell into it, unable to hear them anymore.


	19. Chapter 19

Gibbs POV: 3 weeks later

She still didn't wake up. It had been three weeks to this day that she was shot and in a coma. The doctors were giving up hope now and asked if I wanted her discharged each day they came in. I just shook my head, telling them that she's a fighter and that she'll pull through.

"We caught the bastards, Ziva, I'm flying back to D.C. tomorrow. They're asking me if I wanted you discharged, but I said no. You have to pull through soon, Ziver, just open your eyes and tell me that you'll be on the same flight with me to D.C."

I heard the doors swing open and picked up my head off the bed to see the doctor come in, his face grim.

"I have some bad news," he began, his voice sounding tired.

I waited for him to continue, my pulse racing.

"She lost the baby," he began, flipping through the charts, "The bullet pierced the amniotic sac, making it detach. The baby couldn't breath, and she died."

I rubbed a hand over my face, shock over taking me. She was _pregnant_? I wondered, she never told me she was, hell, did she even know?

"She was pregnant?" I chocked out, pain lacing my features.

The doctor nodded, "About a few weeks, three, at the most."

I shook my head, "She never told me about the baby."

He looked at me apolitically and shrugged, "I'm sorry for your lose."

The doctor stepped out again and I was once again alone with her sleeping form. I grasped her hand in mine, willing her to wake up to my touch and when she didn't, I felt my hope fading.

"Ziva, you lost the baby," I whispered, "I don't blame you, but you should've told me. I would've pulled you from the op a long time ago."

Suddenly, her eye lids fluttered open, her brown eyes wide with fear and confusion. She began choking on the breathing tube stuck in her throat and her hands began to claw at it.

I jerked out of my seat at hearing her distress and called the doctors and the nurses in.

"Take a deep breath, Ziver," I told her, and she obeyed, tears in her eyes as they removed the tube.

She looked at me, her eyes wide with fear and sadness.

"W-where am I?" She asked, her voice rough and cracked.

"You're in a hospital," I told her, tears of joy threatening to fall. She had finally woken up; after weeks of talking to her, wishing and praying, she finally opened her eyes. I thought I would never see those soft brown eyes staring at me again.

I pulled her to my chest, letting her cry into my shirt and cried with her, happy that she was safe in my arms, alive.

"I thought I lost you," I told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, her tears still staining my shirt.

She shook her head, "I heard you talking to me everyday and I wanted to open my eyes so bad and tell you how much I missed you, but I couldn't, until today."

I gave her a small smile and brushed her hair away from her face, capturing her lips in mine in an earth shattering kiss.

When I pulled away, her face was flushed, "How long have I been asleep?" She asked.

I sighed, "Three weeks," I told her, my voice soft.

Her eyes opened wide, "Did I mess up the undercover work?" She asked softly.

I shook my head, "No, we caught them last night, Melinda and I went around town the whole night. That's why I wasn't there last night."

She nodded, her arms still wrapped securely around me.

"Ziver," I began, "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

She froze, her eyes blank of all emotion once again. She hid her pain too well for me to break through her walls, I realized.

"Because I didn't know to begin with," she told me, her voice wavering slightly.

I glared down at her, trying to hold my previous shock and anger but it just seemed to slip right through my fingers every time I looked at the small Israeli woman lying in that bed.

"The baby's gone," I told her softly, and heard her gasp against my chest. Then, her tears began to fall again and I pulled her close, hushing her and smoothing her hair while crying my own tears for the baby I never knew I could have had.

"It is all my fault," she whispered, "If I had been faster,"

But I cut her off, "This isn't your fault, Ziver, none of this is your fault. I'm just happy that you're coming back home to DC with me tomorrow."

She nodded, her eyes still brimming with tears, "Jethro, I love you, I don't want to lose you ever again," she whispered.

I nodded, "You can't lose me, Ziver, I'll be here for as long as you want me."

I felt the familiar weight of the little velvet box in my pants pocket and smiled slightly. I had bought it in Paris when she was asleep one night, hoping that I would be able to present it to her one day; a ring worthy of her beauty.

"I will always want you," she whispered, her forehead touching mine.

I nodded, that was all the confirmation I needed. I slowly slid out of bed and got down on one knee, pulling out the small little velvet box, I opened it, and saw her eyes widen with surprise.

"Ziva David, after Jen, Shannon, and Kelly's deaths, I never thought I would be able to love again. When I first met you, I thought you were here to take Jen's place in my heart, so that's why I resented you. But once I got to know you, the hatred I was trying to hold onto just disappeared; I don't know how or when, but I do know that I am madly in love with you, and there is nothing in this world that can change that. Will you do me the utmost honor and marry me?" I asked, watching as the tears of joy slid down her face.

She was stunned for several minutes, her face slowly spreading into a smile.

I laughed, "You know I have bad knee, why make me kneel down here for half a day, Ziver?"

She laughed too, "Yes, I will marry you!" She told me, holding out her hand.

I got off my knee and slid the glistening diamond onto her finger, bending down to kiss her lips and then her forehead.

"I love you, Ziva," I told her honestly, looking down at her, my arms around her once more.

"I love you too, Jethro, forever."

I nodded, "Forever."

**THE END! LOOK WHO'S GETTING MARRIED! Hope you guys enjoyed the story! I certainly enjoyed writing it! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Guess what! I'm going to make a sequel…so be on the look out o.o title's going to be: "Back To Reality" so yeah I should be getting the first chapter of that up in a few days or so (: thanks for reading you guys! I really appreciate it! **


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